"I focus on being the best player I can" tells Haaland ahead of UCL second leg

Manchester City Training Session And Press Conference - UEFA Champions League 2023/24
Manchester City Training Session And Press Conference - UEFA Champions League 2023/24 | Alex Livesey/GettyImages

Manchester City prepare for their return leg against Copenhagen in the Champions League on Wednesday evening. City have a significant advantage going into this match, with the Cityzens' aggregate advantage being 3-1.

Erling Haaland accompanied manager Pep Guardiola during their pre-match press conference, and he discussed how his season is going in terms of goal-scoring compared to the last.

"You can think in two ways: last year, I got 36 (goals in PL), and this year, I have 18 (goals). You can think whatever it's good or not for me, I think it's been a good season."

"'I've been working a lot, and I demand a lot of myself; my teammates and the manager demand a lot from me. My life is about football, so that's what I focus on. I have one career; I focus on being the best player I can be."

The Norwegian striker has been very clear that he sees the criticism given by the spectators but (like he should) believes he is having a good season. Despite these setbacks, Haaland is determined to continue what he's been doing so far.

Going into tomorrow's match, Haaland will likely bag a goal or two as City attempts to confirm qualification for the next round of the Champions League. This game seems highly likely to finish in favour of Manchester City.

Copenhagen won't be too confident in their chances of getting a comeback from this game; while it isn't out of the question as we know that the Champions League is always unpredictable, realistically, Copenhagen would need to produce an extraordinary performance to advance to the next round.

Man City Square's prediction

Man City 3-2 Copenhagen (6-3)

While this prediction shows a very close game, it is based on City's results against group-stage opponents Leipzig and Red Star Belgrade, which were won due to their already-confirmed qualification.

While the team will go into this match giving it their all if they were to score first and make it 4-1 on aggregate, the likelihood of Pep substituting a few players looking ahead to their next game sounds accurate. Therefore, letting in a few goals would stay the same, and that's why we have given this prediction.

Manchester City vs Copenhagen starts at 20:00 (UK) on Wednesday, the 6th of March.