Crvena zvezda vs. Manchester City live stream: How to watch Champions League online, TV channel, odds
After clinching a first place berth on Matchday 5, Manchester City will take a victory lap to cap off their successful UEFA Champions League group stage campaign on Wednesday. The reigning champions will travel to Belgrade to face Crvena zvezda, who are bottom of Group G and are already out of the running for a Europa League berth. The match provides a rare opportunity for Pep Guardiola, a frequent critic of City's fixture congestion, to rest his stars in a game that could provide an opportunity for other players to make a case for themselves.
Here's what to know before tuning in.
How to watch and odds
- Date: Wednesday, Dec. 13 | Time: 12:45 p.m. ET
- Location: Red Star Stadium -- Belgrade, Serbia
- Odds: Crvena zvezda +750; Draw +475; Manchester City -267
Storylines
It has been a rough few weeks for City, who went four Premier League games without a win before finally correcting course with a 2-1 win over Luton Town. The team was wasteful in attack and sluggish at times during that winless run, two traits that really came back to haunt them in their 1-0 loss to Aston Villa last week in which they managed just two shots. Though those issues have not suddenly vanished, few will look at Wednesday's trip to Serbia as a place to directly address those concerns
It will instead mark a rare occasion for Guardiola to, as he once described it, take the necessary time to make a nice meal. Back in October, he likened integrating new players and new ideas to cooking: "We don't have time to analyze, we don't have time to refresh ourselves, what we are doing well or bad or whatever," he said.
"We give them time to understand what we want to do, we give them process. Good food needs time to be cooked. We need time, half an hour, one hour. You put in microwave, it's not the same."
Expect rotation from Guardiola, especially since he has most of his squad at his disposal. The manager will likely not sweat Erling Haaland's foot injury that will likely keep him out of this match anyway, and may opt not to risk Jeremy Doku while he deals with a leg issue. Julian Alvarez could feature up top since he's healthy and pops in and out of the lineup on a regular basis.
Prediction
No matter the personnel, City are the favorites in this matchup for good reason and will likely prove why that's the case against Zvezda. Pick: Crvena zvezda 0, Manchester City 2
