Why Man City’s Omar Marmoush Cannot Play vs Club Brugge in the Champions League.
After showing glimpses of the threat he could offer Manchester City in attack in the Cityzens’ 3-1 victory over Chelsea in the Premier League last weekend, Omar Marmoush will not feature at all in City’s must-win UEFA Champions League contest against Club Brugge on Wednesday, due to UEFA’s regulations.
The 25-year-old made the switch from Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt in the January transfer window, spending a reported £59 million to acquire his services. Having scored 20 goals and provided 15 assists in 26 outings for Frankfurt before his move, he now bolsters City’s attack, which has lacked firepower around Erling Haaland since the departure of Julian Alvarez to Atletico Madrid last summer.
However, he won’t be available to Pep Guardiola when Man City take on Club Brugge in their final league phase outing of the newly-revised Champions League group stage, a match they must win to secure a place in the knockout phase play-off matches.
Why Omar Marmoush Cannot Play
Competition regulations prohibit him from playing until the league phase ends
Whilst Marmoush hasn’t featured in the Champions League this season, with his former team, Frankfurt playing in the Europa League this season, the Egyptian international is ineligible to play for City in their final league phase match due to UEFA competition regulations.
According to UEFA, teams in all three European competitions are not allowed to register any new players signed in the January transfer window until after the completion of the league phase. Should City win and progress to the knockout phases, then Marmoush would be free to be registered as an eligible player, with teams allowed to register three new players before the knockout phase begins.
Going into the final game, Man City find themselves in the elimination zone, sitting in 25th place out of 36 teams. They are the only British team not inside the top 20, with Premier League sides Liverpool and Arsenal both in the top three, whilst Aston Villa are on the cusp of an automatic spot in the last 16, sitting in ninth on goal difference.
A draw for City against Brugge – who are also playing for the chance to go to the knockout rounds and currently sit in 20th place – will not be enough. Should they fail to put three points on the board, they will be eliminated from European competition in its entirety.
