Manchester City begin their pursuit of a first European Cup under Enzo Maresca on Tuesday night, travelling to the Estadio do Dragao to face Porto in the opening round of the Champions League league phase. The head coach has declared that squad rotation will be a feature of his side’s continental approach from the outset.
City arrive in Portugal on the back of a hard-fought 1-0 win over newly promoted Coventry City at the weekend. Erling Haaland’s goal enough to keep their unbeaten start to the season intact. But the victory was not without cost, with two fresh fitness concerns emerging just 48 hours before kick-off in Porto.
Injury doubts over O’Reilly and Ndiaye
Nico O’Reilly had been pencilled in to start against Coventry but was withdrawn from the lineup during the warm-up after picking up a lower back problem. Record signing Enzo Fernandez drafted in at short notice to make his full debut instead.
Deadline-day arrival Iliman Ndiaye then had to be withdrawn himself late on, joining fellow winger Jeremy Doku, still sidelined by a calf injury, on the treatment table.
There is more encouraging news on Ndiaye, however. The Senegal international has since been pictured back in training at City’s Etihad Campus base. The development suggests that the knock that forced him off was not serious, and he is expected to be available for selection against Porto.
O’Reilly’s situation looks more delicate, with the midfielder considered a doubt for the trip after sitting out City’s first training session in preparation for the match.
Doku’s return remains further away. The Belgium winger has now missed City’s opening three Premier League fixtures of the season since suffering his calf problem in the Community Shield defeat by Arsenal, and the club are yet to put a firm timescale on his comeback.
Fringe players set to be handed their chance
With Champions League squads stretched thin by four competitions this season, Maresca had already signalled after the Coventry win that several of his summer recruits and fringe players would be given the opportunity to stake their claim in Porto.
Speaking to reporters after that match, the Italian explained his thinking behind blooding Ayyoub Bouaddi, Ryan McAidoo and Ndiaye in the Premier League: “they need to start, so on Tuesday they are going to start.”
That points to a reshaped City lineup at the Estadio do Dragao. Should Ndiaye prove fit, he is expected to operate on the left flank, with Antoine Semenyo making way for McAidoo on the opposite side and Fernandez deployed as a No 10 behind Haaland.
Bouaddi looks likely to partner Elliot Anderson at the base of midfield, while City’s back four of Josko Gvardiol, Marc Guehi, Ruben Dias and Abdukodir Khusanov is expected to remain unchanged.
Matheus Nunes, back available after a spell out, has also been included in the travelling squad and could feature.
Haaland, meanwhile, looks set to keep his place up front despite Maresca’s insistence that the Norwegian will need to be managed carefully across a season in which City are competing on four fronts.
The 26-year-old has scored freely in the opening weeks of the campaign and remains City’s most reliable route to goal.
Porto arrive at Tuesday’s meeting full of confidence, unbeaten in seven consecutive competitive matches and playing in a 28th Champions League campaign, a Portuguese record.
City, however, have a strong recent record against the Dragoes, having won three and drawn one of their four previous European meetings with the Portuguese club, most recently a 3-1 win at the Etihad Stadium during their run to the 2021 final.
Kick-off at the Estadio do Dragao is scheduled for 8pm BST on Tuesday, 8 September, with the match live on TNT Sports.
Victory would give City the perfect start to a league-phase campaign in which they will be desperate to go further than last season’s quarter-final exit.
