What Man City need to qualify for Champions League knockout phase

When the Champions League took its new form at the beginning of the season, Manchester City were deemed almost guaranteed qualifiers within the new-look 36-team league phase.

After all, who could have believed that the 2022/23 European champions and current Premier League holders would be outperformed by the likes of Brest, Feyenoord and Celtic in the continent's leading competition?

Well, City's miserable European campaign has taken all by surprise and they now sit perilously close to missing out on the knockout phase altogether. The Cityzens are perched in 25th place heading into Matchday 8, sat just outside the play-off places prior to their final encounter of the league phase.

Supporters will be furiously biting their nails between now and Wednesday's European clash but the positive news is that qualification to the play-off round remains in their hands.

Here is how Mancheser City can qualify for the next phase of the Champions League.

How Man City can qualify for Champions League play-offs

The task is simple. If City beat Club Brugge at the Etihad Stadium, they will secure their place in the play-offs, leapfrogging the Belgian outfit and finishing in 24th at the very least.

However, given they are two points outside of the play-off qualification spots, a draw or defeat on Wednesday night would eliminate Pep Guardiola's side from the competition.

In any other season, victory at home to Club Brugge - who have only reached the knockout phase once during the Champions League era - would be a pretty safe bet, but City's frequent slip-ups at home and abroad this term means nerves will be jangling around the Etihad.

City have at least found some form in recent weeks, including the weekend's 3-1 win over Chelsea, but their 4-2 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League last time out highlights a capacity to implode.

Manchester City record vs Club Brugge

City's record against Club Brugge would suggest that Wednesday may not prove quite the banana skin that some are anticipating. They faced the Belgians twice during the 2021/22 Champions League group stage, winning 5-1 in Brugge before an equally emphatic 4-1 victory at home.

None of the four players who scored in the away triumph - Cole Palmer, Kyle Walker, Joao Cancelo and Riyad Mahrez - are any loner at the club, while Phil Foden is the only goalscorer from the home victory that still plays in sky blue.

In eight past meetings with Belgian opposition, City have only lost once. That defeat came to Standard Liege in the 1978/79 UEFA Cup, when they were beaten 2-0 on the road.

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