63 days since last competitive fixture, Copenhagen are hungry for Man City scalp

It must feel refreshing for Manchester City that even now, even after winning the lot, they meet some uncharted water in a capital renowned for its mermaid.

Copenhagen can’t really decide whether 63 days off is a good or bad thing before their biggest Champions League tie in well over a decade. While Jacob Neestrup’s side have endured a long winter break in Denmark, feet up in the snow, his opposite number Pep Guardiola and his team negotiated a dozen fixtures, including a trip to Saudi Arabia before Christmas.

Neestrup maintained this is a disadvantage. Some of his players think otherwise and it will be interesting to see how they react after a friendly tournament in Portugal against other Scandinavian sides in which they played three times in five days last week.

If City don’t know what’s coming in the Danish capital, they will quickly find out when this last-16 first leg kicks off in the feverish Parken tonight. Ten-man Manchester United buckled here in November when the late winner by Roony Bardghji — named after Wayne — was a result of Erik ten Hag’s team finding themselves overwhelmed by the crowd. The national stadium, a compact box with offices in one corner, comes alive under lights and staff were busy tying up the tifo in the stands last night.

‘Imagine this stadium after two months without a game — everyone is desperate to watch football,’ Guardiola said.

‘I have huge respect for them. I said to the players this morning that they have to prepare mentally. The game plan will be what it has always been but they have to be ready to suffer mentally. Tomorrow will be a tight game. I feel it and normally my gut doesn’t lie to me.’

The Danish champions have lost only three times at home in this competition: to Chelsea in