Thursday 31 July
Venue: Oakwell, Barnsley
Man City vs. EB/Streymur
(First leg result: 2-0)
Kick Off: 20:00 GMT
Although Manchester City will not enjoy home advantage at Eastland’s tonight, as the pitch has been given extra time to recover from a Bon Jovi concert, it will take a shock of monumental proportions to prevent them from progressing to the second qualifying round of the Uefa Cup.
Goals from Didi Hamann and Martin Petrov handed the Premier League side a 2-0 win in the first leg in the Faroe Islands and the fans tonight will be expecting a goal bonanza back in England against an EB/Streymur side whose quality levels leave a lot to be desired.
Team News
Vedran Corluka and Elano are both expected to return to the Manchester City team tonight after missing the first leg due to their extended summer breaks following international matches.
Jo, who made his debut in the first leg, is away on Olympic duty with Brazil and Benjani is injured. This should open the door for either Ched Evans or Daniel Sturridge to start as both the young talents seek to enhance their growing reputations in the game.
There’s also better new regarding Valeri Bojinov who will not be involved tonight following a thigh strain but will likely get a run out on Saturday against Stockport along with new signing Tal Ben Haim, who is not eligible for tonights match.
The Boss
City’s prime concern will be guarding against complacency, with Mark Hughes admitting he would be surprised if his side does not progress.
“We’ve got the cushion of the two away goals, it’s still a situation we need to be mindful of but I would be very surprised if we did not progress.”
“We want results, more often than not performances come with results. We just want to get through the tie, and we have some good games coming up. I’ve been pleased with the pre-season that has been put in place, it’s a good mix of top-quality games against good opposition, and competitive games as well, one that is right for preparing for the start of the Premier League season.”
Prediction
While you never say never in these David and Goliath ties, it’s hard to see City failing to progress and even harder to see EB/Streymur scoring a goal. A comfortable victory for City is in store.
City 3- 0 EB/Streymur