Ederson, Doku and Grealish return for Juventus clash | OneFootball

City make three changes for Wednesday night’s return to Champions League action away to Juventus.

From the side that began Saturday’s 2-2 Premier League draw away at Crystal Palace, Ederson, Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku all return to Pep Guardiola’s starting line-up.

Stefan Ortega Moreno, Matheus Nunes and Savinho all revert to the bench.

Mateo Kovacic, who has been out injured since the November international break and Phil Foden – who has missed our last two matches through illness – are also named amongst the substitutes for the trip to Turin.

Also amongst the substitutes is teenage goalkeeper Max Hudson who has been called up from the Academy.

Teams

JUVENTUS: To follow

Subs: To follow

CITY XI: Ederson, Walker (C), Dias, Gvardiol, Lewis, Gundogan, De Bruyne, Bernardo, Doku, Grealish, Haaland

Subs: Subs: Ortega, Hudson, Kovacic, Savinho, Nunes, Foden, Wright, Simpson-Pusey, O'Reilly, McAtee, Wilson-Esbrand

Tactics

Ederson returns to the starting XI and will be the familiar figure in goal with the Brazilian ‘keeper protected by a back four of skipper Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol and Rico Lewis.

Ilkay Gundogan is set to be deployed as City’s holding midfielder with Kevin De Bruyne  and Bernardo Silva also operating in the engine room.

Erling Haaland will be City’s central attacking focus with Jeremy Doku and Jack Grealish both set to supply the width.

However such is City’s tactical flexibility and fluency that could change as the evening progresses.

WATCH: We must play to our strengths - Guardiola

All to play for

With City having played five out of our eight league fixtures ahead of tonight, the final three games will all carry enormous significance.

With only the top eight sides in the composite 36-team table going straight through to the knockout stages, it means the sides finishing ninth down to 24th will have to compete in a two-legged knockout tie to also progress.

Ahead of kick-off in Turin, City have eight points and sit in 20th place.

However, positive results in our final three fixtures – away to Juve and then a trip to Paris Saint Germain and a home clash with Club Brugge - could significantly alter the picture for Pep Guardiola’s side.

It means every match assumes arguably even more importance from now on in.

Change the record?

Tonight’s clash marks the seventh time these two famous sides have faced each other in European combat – and to date it’s the Italian side who have enjoyed the upper hand against the Blues.

We did record a 1-0 win against the Old Lady in our first meeting – a UEFA Cup clash back in September 1976.

But since then, Juve have gone unbeaten in our five subsequent meetings, winning three times and drawing on the other two occasions we have met.

WATCH: Dias: At our best level, nobody can stop us

Our most recent clash came in the Champions League back in November 2015, when the Italians edged out a 1-0 victory.

Even more incentive then for Pep’s troops to try and register what would be a crucial three points at the Allianz Stadium.

Stats and facts

● City’s current winless run against Juventus is our joint-longest against an opponent in European competition (5), along with a five-game run against Barcelona between 2014 and 2016. However, this will be the first time City have faced Juventus during Pep Guardiola’s reign.

● Juventus have lost four of their last six home matches in the UEFA Champions League (W2), including their most recent one against Stuttgart (0-1 on MD3). This is as many defeats as they had suffered in their previous 40 home matches in the competition combined (4), between October 2013 and December 2021.

● City have conceded seven goals in our last two UEFA Champions League games (4 v Sporting CP and 3 v Feyenoord), after having kept a clean sheet in the first three this term. In his managerial career in the competition, Pep Guardiola has never seen City concede more than twice in three consecutive matches (across all clubs).

● Juventus have drawn their last two games in the UEFA Champions League, playing out stalemates against Lille (1-1) and Aston Villa (0-0). The last time they drew three in a row in the competition was back in 2012-13, doing so in their first three games of that campaign under Antonio Conte.

● Across the first five matchdays this season, Juventus and City were two of the five teams with the longest average time of their sequences of play (in seconds), highlighting their elaborate styles in possession (17.2 for City and 14.1 for Juventus).

● Juventus’ opponents have recorded 62 high turnovers against them in the UEFA Champions League this season; the joint-most a team had against them through the first five matchdays (level with RB Salzburg). In addition, no side conceded more shots following an opposition high turnover in the same period (12, level with Young Boys).

● City’s Rico Lewis is the youngest player to have played every minute for his team in the UEFA Champions League this season (20y 20d on the day of this game). Across the opening five matchdays of the 2024-25 edition, he led all players aged under-21 for both chances created (13) and expected assists (2).

●  Francisco Conceição has completed 18 dribbles in his four games in the UEFA Champions League this season. Indeed, his average of 5.2 completed dribbles per 90 is currently the highest by a Juventus player in a single campaign on record (since 2003-04, min. 300 minutes played).

●  Matheus Nunes has assisted three goals in his last three UEFA Champions League appearances for City, and is the only player to assist more than once for Pep Guardiola’s side in the competition this term (3). In the opening five matchdays of 2024-25, he also had the joint-most big chances created of any player in the tournament (5 – level with Ángel Di María).