Man City vs Young Boys match facts

Three points clear at the top of Group G, UEFA Champions League holders Manchester City welcome Young Boys knowing another victory will take them into the knockout rounds with two games to spare.

Pep Guardiola's side have won all three games in this season's competition, most recently 3-1 in Bern on Matchday 3 when a 48th-minute tap-in from Swiss defender Manuel Akanji was cancelled out within four minutes by Meschack Elia's fine lob. The top scorer in the 2022/23 Champions League, Erling Haaland then opened his account for the current campaign with a 67th-minute penalty before sealing the win four minutes from time.

That was City's third successive 3-1 win in this season's competition after victories at home to Crvena zvezda – a game in which they had to come from behind – and at Leipzig. They have nine points, three more than second-placed Leipzig.

Young Boys are level with Crvena zvezda on one point having gone down at home to the German club by the same 3-1 scoreline on Matchday 1 and had to settle for a 2-2 draw in Belgrade in their second fixture in which they conceded an 88th-minute equaliser.

The Matchday 3 fixture was the sides' first meeting, and only City's third game against a Swiss side.

Form guide

Manchester City

City's only previous games against a Swiss club before this season came in the 2017/18 Champions League round of 16, when they won the first leg 4-0 at Basel thanks to two İlkay Gündoğan goals and one each from Bernardo Silva and Sergio Agüero. Guardiola's side progressed despite a 2-1 home second-leg defeat.

This is City's 13th successive Champions League group appearance; they have featured every season since 2011/12 and have reached the knockout stages in each of the last ten campaigns.

City won the Champions League for the first time in 2022/23, beating Inter 1-0 in the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul thanks to a second-half goal from Rodri. They had finished top of Group G before knockout wins against Leipzig, Bayern and holders Real Madrid (1-1 a, 4-0 h).

Guardiola's side have won their Champions League group for six successive seasons.

The final victory brought Guardiola level with Zinédine Zidane and Bob Paisley with three European Cup wins as a coach in total. Only Carlo Ancelotti has more with four.

Guardiola, a winner with Barcelona in 2009 and 2011, also became the sixth coach to win the European Cup with two different clubs.

Haaland was the top scorer in the competition with 12 goals. Midfielder Rodri was selected as Player of the Season.

The Cityzens also won the Premier League and the FA Cup in 2022/23, making them England's first treble winners since Manchester United in 1998/99. They became the tenth European team to win the treble and the first since Bayern in 2020.

City have already claimed European silverware this season, beating Sevilla 5-4 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in Piraeus on 16 August to win the UEFA Super Cup for the first time. The Premier League side were the 25th team to lift the trophy and the sixth from England, Guardiola becoming the first coach to triumph with three different clubs.

The Manchester club scored 14 goals without conceding at home in last season's knockout rounds and are unbeaten in 27 home European matches (W25 D2) since a 2-1 loss to Lyon on Matchday 1 in 2018/19, winning 19 of the last 20 with the exception a 0-0 draw against Sporting CP in the 2021/22 round of 16 second leg.

That 27-match run without a home defeat is an English club record in the Champions League, overtaking Arsenal's 24-game sequence from September 2004 to April 2009.

City have lost only two of their last 32 Champions League group stage matches (W24 D6).

The Manchester club have not lost a European game since a 3-1 extra-time defeat at Real Madrid in the 2021/22 semi-final second leg – the 17-game unbeaten run since has equalled West Ham's English record.

Young Boys

Record vs English clubs: W2 D2 L7 F14 A29
Away record vs English clubs: W0 D2 L3

Young Boys were paired with City's neighbours Manchester United in both of their first two Champions League group stage appearances, losing 3-0 at home and 1-0 away – conceding in the 91st minute – in 2018/19. They fared better in 2021/22, a goal five minutes into added time from Jordan Siebatcheu snatching a 2-1 Matchday 1 win in Bern before a 1-1 draw in Manchester on Matchday 6 – those points accounting for four of the five YB accumulated in Group F.

The Swiss side lost their first away game against an English club 4-0 at Tottenham in the 2010/11 Champions League play-off second leg to bow out 6-3 on aggregate and also went down 3-1 at Everton in the 2014/15 UEFA Europa League round of 32 second leg (2-7 agg) but did draw 2-2 at Liverpool in the 2012/13 Europa League group stage.

Home and away, that 2021 win against United is YB's only victory in their last ten fixtures against English clubs (D2 L7).

This is YB's tenth Champions League campaign; they have come through qualifying three times but have lost in the play-offs on four occasions, most recently in 2019/20 against Crvena Zvezda on away goals (2-2 h, 1-1 a).

A team coached by Gerardo Seoane finished bottom of their Champions League group in 2021/22 on five points, four of those coming against Manchester United including that famous 2-1 win on Matchday 1.

The Swiss club played only six European games last season, beating Latvia's Liepāja 4-0 on aggregate in the UEFA Europa Conference League second qualifying round and Finnish side KuPS 5-0 over two legs in the next stage only to lose 3-1 on penalties to Anderlecht in the play-offs after each side had won 1-0 away.

YB have never won an away game in seven attempts in the Champions League group stage; indeed, the Matchday 2 draw at Crvena zvezda was only the second time they had avoided defeat, the other the 1-1 draw at Manchester United on Matchday 6 in 2021/22.

Young Boys claimed their 16th Swiss title in 2022/23, and a fifth in sixth seasons, finishing 16 points clear at the top of the table. Raphaël Wicky's side also added the Swiss Cup, the club's third domestic double and a second in four seasons.

The Swiss side therefore entered this season's Champions League in the play-offs, beating Maccabi Haifa 3-0 on aggregate, all the goals coming in the home second leg.

The 0-0 first-leg draw at Maccabi ended Young Boys' three-match winning away European run; they have lost only two of their last 11 away (W4 D5).

Links and trivia

City's Swiss international defender Akanji came through the ranks at Winterthur (2007–2015), making his first-team debut in April 2014. He went on to play 35 second division games before signing for Basel in April 2015.

Akanji scored seven goals in 58 matches in all competitions for Basel, winning the Swiss Super League in 2015/16 and again in 2016/17, when his side also lifted the Swiss Cup, before signing for Borussia Dortmund in January 2018.

Akanji's international team-mates with Switzerland include Anthony Racioppi, David von Ballmoos, Ulisses Garcia, Filip Ugrinic and Cedric Itten.

Has played in England:
Saidy Janko (Manchester United 2013–15, Bolton 2015 loan, Barnsley 2016/17 loan, Nottingham Forest 2018/19 loan)

Latest news

Manchester City

On Saturday City recorded their biggest win of the season, beating Bournemouth 6-1 at the City of Manchester Stadium. It was the 12th time they had scored six or more goals in a Premier League match under Pep Guardiola.

City have won their last 22 home games in all competitions, a new record for a Premier League club. It is the second-longest home winning run by an English top-flight side behind Sunderland's 24-game sequence between December 1890 and April 1892.

Jérémy Doku, who scored City's first goal, also became only the eighth player to provide four assists in a Premier League match.

The English champions have won their last four matches in all competitions, a run that includes a 3-0 derby victory at Manchester United on 29 October.

Erling Haaland scored twice and has five goals in his last four City appearances.

Haaland, who set a new Premier League record of 36 goals in 2022/23, already has 11 to his name this season – three more than any other. He has 20 away goals in 23 league matches for City, the quickest to the mark in Premier League history – eight games faster than previous record holder Kevin Phillips.

City's record in this season's Premier League is W9 L2.

Guardiola's side suffered their first league defeat of the season on 30 September, losing 2-1 at Wolverhampton Wanderers. They were also beaten in their next, 1-0 at Arsenal on 8 October – the first time they had lost successive Premier League games since December 2018.

The English champions had won their first six league games this season and were the only team in the Premier League still to drop a point before losing at Wolves.

City have lost three of their last eight matches in all competitions – as many defeats as in their previous 42 games (W32 D7).

Haaland scored twice in Norway's 2-1 UEFA EURO 2024 qualifying win away to Cyprus on 12 October, but found the net in only two of seven games for club and country – three goals in all before scoring in a 2-1 home win against Brighton on 21 October. He scored in his next two matches.

On 27 September City lost 1-0 at Newcastle in the English League Cup third round.

City kicked off the season by losing 4-1 on penalties to Arsenal after a 1-1 draw in the FA Community Shield at Wembley on 6 August. It was their 15th appearance in the match and their ninth defeat – and a third in a row.

Oscar Bobb made his debut for Norway in the 4-0 win in Cyprus on 12 October, in which Haaland scored twice, and his first start in a 1-0 UEFA EURO 2024 qualifying defeat at home to Spain three days later, a result that booked the winners' place in next summer's finals. Rodri was in the visitors' line-up with Haaland also playing for Norway.

The same day, Akanji's third international goal helped Switzerland salvage a 3-3 draw at home to Belarus.

On 13 October Jérémy Doku set up what proved to be the decisive goal as Belgium won 3-2 in Austria to reach UEFA EURO 2024. The same day, Rúben Dias and Bernardo Silva started as Portugal held on to beat Slovakia 3-2 to also qualify for the finals in Germany.

Phil Foden, John Stones, Kalvin Phillips and Kyle Walker all started with Jack Grealish a late substitute as England reached UEFA EURO 2024 with a 3-1 win against Italy at Wembley on 17 October in a repeat of the EURO 2020 final.

Haaland went off at half-time on Saturday with a twisted ankle.

Kevin De Bruyne has not played since suffering a recurrence of a hamstring injury in a 2-0 win at Burnley in City's first Premier League game of the season on 11 August.

On 31 August Haaland was named the UEFA Men's Player of the Year at the Champions League group stage draw in Monaco. Pep Guardiola took the coach's award.

On 30 October Haaland finished as runner-up to Lionel Messi in voting for the 2023 Ballon d'Or. De Bruyne was fourth, Rodri fifth, Julián Álvarez seventh and Bernardo Silva ninth.

Young Boys

Young Boys' record this season in all competitions is W11 D6 L3. They won 4-1 at Winterthur on Saturday.

Filip Ugrinic scored for the second league game in a row while Joël Monteiro got his fourth goal in the league this season and Loris Benito and Meschak Elia their second.

On 1 November Young Boys were 2-0 winners at third division Rapperswil-Jona in the Swiss Cup last 16.

Jean-Pierre Nsamé opened the scoring and has four goals in his last eight matches.

Saidy Janko scored the second, his first for the club.

YB will visit Sion in the quarter-finals in the week beginning 25 February.

A 3-0 home win against Basel on 8 October is one of three YB victories in their last seven games in all competitions (D3 L1).

Cédric Itten got the final goal against Basel, the third successive match in which he had found the net, although he has not scored since.

Young Boys have kept nine clean sheets in their last 16 games in all competitions, although only four in the last 11.

The Bern club suffered their only Swiss Super League defeat of the season on 27 September, going down 2-1 at St Gallen. They have won seven of their 12 league matches in 2023/24.

Noah Persson missed the cup win at Rapperswil-Jona due to illness. He came on in added time on Saturday.

Itten was also a late substitute on Saturday, his first game since being replaced on Matchday 3.

Łukasz Łakomy has been out since 8 October.

On 22 September Young Boys announced Kastriot Imeri was facing a spell on the sidelines due to a knee injury. He has not played since.

On 9 October Itten agreed a one-year contract extension, keeping him at Young Boys until summer 2027.