| MUMBAI:
Manchester City will be hoping that the struggling Brazilian superstar Robinho
finds his form as they look to overcome a 3-1 deficit against Hamburg when they
take on the German Bundesliga side on home turf in the second leg of their UEFA
Cup quarter-final match. Having
lost the first leg despite taking the lead within one minute of kick off (through
Steven Ireland), need to win the match to keep their European title hopes alive.
Hamburg will
be looking at extending their good home record against English clubs and live
action from this crucial match will be available exclusively on Ten Sports, the
most watched sports channel in the Sub-continent. The telecast starts on Friday,
April 17 from 12:15 am (IST). The
UEFA Cup is the second most important international competition for European football
clubs after the UEFA Champions League, which is also shown live and exclusive
on Ten Sports. Clubs qualify for the UEFA Cup based on their performance in national
leagues and cup competitions. Manchester
City has been recently bought by an Abu Dhabi company and with money being pumped
in, including the record purchase of Robinho for nearly $49 million, much was
expected from the English side. But they are currently placed 11th in the Premier
League and struggling to remain in the European competition. In
the first leg match, Hamburg overcame the initial setback and equalised in the
seventh minute through Joris Mathijsen, before a Piotr Trochowski penalty and
a Jose Paolo Guerrero goal in the second half sealed the issue.
City manager
Mark Hughes admits that injuries remain a concern, with Wales forward Craig Bellamy
already ruled out with the knee injury he aggravated against Hamburg last Thursday.
Hughes said:
“Bellamy is out on Thursday. We’re hopeful that Shaun Wright-Phillips
(ankle) will be ok. Wayne Bridge (hamstring) is a doubt, although he could be
a possibility. We just have to see how the week goes. Vincent Kompany (hamstring)
may be back, although it is touch and go because the game might just come a couple
of days too early for him. “It’s
difficult for us. We are fighting on two fronts in the Premier League and in Europe,
but we are hopeful that we will be in better shape.” | 