The Game​

A trip to Germany awaits Manchester City on Wednesday evening as RB Leipzig provide the opposition in the fourth match of this increasingly complicated Champions League league phase. City have collected six points from their opening three fixtures, while Leipzig find themselves towards the wrong end of the table. Exactly how much that matters at this stage is anybody's guess, but three more points would certainly make life more comfortable. There's no need to make the group any harder than UEFA already has.

This will be the seventh meeting between the clubs, with City winning the last two encounters. History, of course, is always useful when discussing football matches, right up to the exact moment the referee blows his whistle, when it becomes about as relevant as last year's Christmas decorations.

The Blues travel to Germany still nursing the wounds from defeat at Brighton and there is no getting away from the fact that the last four matches have been a frustrating watch. The encouraging news is that City are creating chances. The less encouraging news is that actually converting those chances appears to have become an optional extra, possibly removed from the club's subscription package.

At times the attack has looked like a group project where everybody has done the research but nobody wants to write the final paragraph. The build-up play has often been excellent, the movement promising and the openings clear enough. Unfortunately, goals are awarded for putting the ball in the net, not for producing an impressive demonstration of how nearly we can do it.

Antoine Semenyo remains unavailable, which removes another attacking option, but there is still more than enough quality in this squad to trouble any defence in Europe. At some point somebody has to grab hold of a chance and introduce it to the back of the net. Preferably before the opposition have time to organise a search party.

Leipzig will have little sympathy for City's recent troubles. They have a home crowd behind them and a Champions League campaign that needs reviving, so we can expect an aggressive and committed performance. German teams have never developed a reputation for politely standing aside and allowing English visitors a pleasant evening. They are more likely to offer us a warm welcome followed by 90 minutes of unpleasantness.

City therefore need to do the simple things well. Defend properly, control possession sensibly and, most importantly, remember that the object of football is not merely to create chances but occasionally to finish them too. Recent evidence suggests this reminder may need pinning to the dressing-room wall, preferably somewhere nobody can miss it.

This presents an opportunity to draw a line under the disappointment against Brighton and get the European campaign moving in the right direction again. Six points from three games is hardly a disaster, despite what certain sections of social media would have us believe. Some would have you thinking the competition is already over and the trophy has been sent to somebody else's trophy cabinet. The situation is still firmly in City's hands.

The points are there for the taking, but they will have to be earned. Let's just hope the shooting boots made the journey to Germany. They've spent so much time in the luggage compartment recently that customs may be starting to ask questions. If they do eventually turn up, perhaps somebody could remind the forwards which end of the pitch they're supposed to be aiming at.