Wiland hoping København can restore harmony

Goalkeeper Johan Wiland recalled happier times for FC København in the UEFA Champions League as he assessed their chances of a timely return to form against Juventus.

Johan Wiland has happy memories of FC København's last appearance in the UEFA Champions League and rightly so. It was the 2010/11 season, when they won three of their six group games and also earned a famous home draw with champions-elect FC Barcelona en route to the last 16.
It was the best of times for the Danish club – and, as Wiland freely admits, quite unlike their current plight. "Back then there were different types of players in the squad," recalls FCK's Swedish goalkeeper. "We had a lot of players who knew how to perform in huge competitions like the Champions League. We upped our level a lot in those matches and the team peaked that season. At the same time we performed very well in the Danish league and won the title."
Today, by contrast, as they prepare to return to the competition with a Group B home fixture against Juventus, things are rather different. "We are struggling in the league," says Wiland, 32, of a team with just one win from their opening eight Danish Superliga outings. "The problem this season is not that we don't have good players. We have great players and a strong team but the problem is that nobody in the squad has performed at the same time. We've not really performed as a group. Until now, when one player has been playing well, the rest have been struggling."
Their poor start meant that coach Ariël Jacobs was sacked in August, with Ståle Solbakken brought back to the club where he won five league titles. The question now is whether Solbakken can restore harmony to the Danish title holders. Wiland, now in his sixth season with the club, does not rule it out. "If we play at 110%, we have a small chance against Juventus," he says.
"The Champions League is something completely different. Something happens inside your head when you step on to the pitch surrounded by thousands of fans with the Champions League anthem playing in the background." Whether the evening ends on a high note, though, remains to be seen

Plzen vs Manchester City Preview

Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany could return from a groin injury as his side begin their Champions League campaign against little-known Czech side Plzen.

Kompany has been absent since his side's 4-0 win over Newcastle in their Premier League opener on 19 August. 

Fellow defender Martin Demichelis, signed from Atletico Madrid in September, is out with a knee injury.

 “We will see if Vincent Kompany is 100%. If he is, of course he will play. ”

Manuel Pellegrini Man City manager

David Silva, Gael Clichy and Micah Richards are all doubtful.

"Vincent has worked with us normally for the last two days," said City manager Manuel Pellegrini on Monday. "We will see if he is 100%. If he is, of course he will play.

"We will talk with the doctor and decide. I think he will be 100%, but if he is not he will not play.

"We have a very important match but we have other players if any are not 100%."

Plzen are top of the Czech league with six wins in their opening eight games and beat Slovenian side Maribor in a play-off to earn a second Champions League appearance in three years.

In 2011 they finished third in a group containing Barcelona and AC Milan, scoring two late goals to draw 2-2 with Milan in their final game in the competition. 

Pellegrini has warned his side that they cannot afford to take their opponents lightly, citing his own success in taking unfancied Malaga to the quarter-finals last season.

"It would be a big mistake to think that playing a team with less history in Europe would be easier to play," he said.

"Last season when the draw took place AC Milan and Zenit St Petersburg were happy to be drawn against Malaga and they felt they'd already qualified for the next round.

"It has been three years now that the club hasn't done well in Europe, and I think that if we want to qualify, we have to respect Viktoria Plzen, CSKA Moscow, and Bayern Munich the same way, and will try to put in our best performance to beat them."

His Plzen counterpart Pavel Vrba promised that there would be no lack of application from his side either. "Manchester City is one of the top clubs in the world and we are aware that we will not go into the match as favourites,"

"I am quite sure they won't be scared of us, but we are determined to fight for every inch of ground."