Manchester City go into tonight's Champions League encounter with Plzen knowing there is plenty of room for improvement. Last season, the Citizens finished bottom of their group with just three points, the lowest tally recorded by a British side since Blackburn Rovers entered the competition for their one and only time in 1995-96. To be fair, City had a tough group containing Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund - who would end up meeting each other in the semi-finals - as well as Dutch champions Ajax. And they will also face another massive challenge to qualify this season, too, having been paired in Group D with CSKA Moscow and European champions Bayern Munich. Picking up six points from their two games against unfancied Plzen then seems almost imperative if the English side are to have any hope of reaching the knock-out stages for the first time in their history. But that's not to say Plzen are just there to make up the numbers. This is now their second appearance in the Group Stages of European football's top club competition in three years, while they have also held AC Milan to a shock 2-2 draw in the past. Even so, City should be too strong tonight. Prediction: Plzen 0-3 Manchester City
Joseph is an accredited football journalist and has interviewed nearly all of the current 20 Barclay's Premier League managers. He is also a correspondent for Bleacher Report and has written for Caught Offside and Give Me Football.
