As long as Manchester City secures at least a point against Sparta Prague, Pep Guardiola's side will break Manchester United's record for the longest unbeaten run in Champions League history.
Manchester City extended its UCL unbeaten run to 25 games when the Citizens defeated Slovan Bratislava 4–0 on Oct 1. The defending English champions joined rivals Manchester United as the only two clubs to ever reach the landmark in the Champions League.
The Red Devils enjoyed their 25-game unbeaten run in the UCL from 2007 to 2009 under Sir Alex Ferguson. The streak included United's 2008-winning European campaign, led by Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Rio Ferdinand.
United's record stood untouched for 15 years before it ever faced real danger of being broken. Bayern Munich came the closest when it went 19 games unbeaten from 2019 to 2021, but City looks to be the team to overtake the Red Devils' streak.
JOIN SI SOCCER'S MANCHESTER CITY WHATSAPP COMMUNITY - GET ALL THE LATEST NEWS AND ANALYSIS STRAIGHT TO YOUR PHONE
City's last Champions League defeat came at the hands of Real Madrid in the second leg of the 2021–22 semifinals. Los Blancos secured a 3–1 victory at the Santiago Bernabéu before going on to win their 14th UCL title.
Ever since that night in Madrid, the Citizens have not lost a single UCL fixture. From Sept. 2022 to now, City has only recorded victories or draws. The Premier League side topped the competition in 2023 after defeating Inter Milan at Atatürk Olympic Stadium.
City was eliminated from the tournament the following year by Real Madrid, but the penalty shootout defeat does not count toward the club's overall unbeaten streak. Technically, the side managed a 1–1 draw with Carlo Ancelotti's men in the second leg of the quarterfinals.
Should City break United's UCL record on Oct. 23, the club will achieve its second monumental streak within four days. The Citizens' last-minute victory over Wolves at the weekend extended their Premier League unbeaten streak to 31 games, putting them on the fourth longest undefeated run in the league's history.
A team of City's quality should have no trouble overcoming Sparta Prague at the Etihad to etch its name in the Champions League history books.
READ THE LATEST MANCHESTER CITY NEWS, PREVIEWS, PREDICTIONS, TRANSFER RUMORS AND MORE
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Manchester City Close to Breaking Historic Man Utd Champions League Record.
