Neestrup: We have respect for City, but also ourselves

F.C. Copenhagen head coach Jacob Neestrup says he expects his players to perform on Wednesday when facing Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League.

FCK clash with the English champions knowing even a point could greatly influence the outcome of the group stage come the end of the autumn.

Neestrup is missing a few players due to injury but insists that he will strike the right balance, knowing how congested the Lions' fixture list is between now and the World Cup.

"We take to the field tomorrow with the intention of making a good impression. Regardless of who we meet in the Superliga or the Champions League, we have respect for the opponent, but we also have respect for ourselves. We must have this in order to go out and deliver, and to get the best possible result," says Neestrup.

"We have an important match in the Superliga again on Saturday [vs FC Nordsjælland), and it will be like this over the coming weeks, and tomorrow we will field the team that I believe is the most competitive. We are obliged to do so for ourselves and for Danish football.

"I have told the players that when we get on the plane tomorrow night we have to have a good feeling, and preferably take home with us a point or even three. But first of all we have to perform properly. If we do that we'll have a better chance of winning on Saturday too."

The Lions will be without the likes of Carlos Zeca, Rasmus Falk and Nicolai Boilesen for the trip to the City of Manchester Stadium.

But Neestrup insists that won't affect his expectations from the group.

"Obviously, I would have liked to have Zeca, Falk and Boilesen available, but I'm focusing on the ones I have with me and I'm absolutely sure we can field a competitive team tomorrow," he adds.

"In recent months we have delivered some of our strongest performances in European matches, but it is of course important that we carry our form over to the Superliga and perform there too.

"Everyone can see that Manchester City are a handful, who have a number of world-class players, but they are a class team regardless of who they select. I am particularly impressed that they play strongly as a collective, and they are very systematic, both when defending and attacking.

"Erling Haaland is perhaps the best striker in the world right now, so we have to try to limit his opportunities to finish, but we don't just focus on him. We also have to prepare for 10 others who make up their strong team unit, and which we have to face up to with our collective effort."

Claesson named captain
Regarding the squad, Neestrup also confirmed that Viktor Claesson will wear the captain's armband on Wednesday evening, and that he has four goalkeepers in the squad for two reasons. Partly because Andreas Dithmer will play for the U19 team in Wednesday's UEFA Youth League match, and partly because Kalle Johnston has suffered a bit with illness recently.