Rampant Manchester City will head to El Madrigal to face a depleted Villarreal in Champions League Group A action on Wednesday.
La Liga side Villarreal have been struggling domestically with their second win of the campaign over Rayo Vallecano on Sunday lifting them out of the relegation zone, though the win came at a cost.
Already savaged with injuries with star striker Giuseppe Rossi ruled out for six months with a knee injury sustained against Real Madrid last week, Villarreal suffered further setbacks against Rayo.
Christian Zapata (knee) and Javier Camunas (leg) are two casualties to come out of the win while Nilmar (knee), Cani (knee), Marco Ruben (adductor) and midfielder Marcos Senna (hamstring) form part of an increasingly threadbare squad.
To add to their woes, Villarreal sit at the foot of the table in Group A, having lost all three of their opening fixtures to Bayern Munich, City and Napoli.
Meanwhile, City boss Roberto Mancini boasts a fully fit squad brimming with confidence after wins over bitter rivals Manchester United and back-to-back wins over Wolverhampton in the Carling Cup and English Premier League.
The Etihad Stadium outfit won the corresponding fixture with Villarreal 2-1 thanks to Sergio Aguero's late winner and will be expected to pick up the three points.
Bayern Munich vice-captain Bastian Schweinsteiger looks set to feature in the side's reverse fixture with Napoli after making a quick recovery from a hamstring injury sustained in a 4-0 win over Nuremberg in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
Bayern are looking for their ninth straight win at the Allianz Arena while Napoli, who suffered a 2-1 defeat at Catania in the Serie A on Saturday, are without captain Paolo Cannavaro who is suspended for the trip north.
Bayern top the group, while a win for Napoli would see them leapfrog the Bundesliga leaders into first and could potentially put more pressure on third-placed City.
No comments:
Post a Comment