City make six changes for Slovan Bratislava clash | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola has made six changes to his City side for tonight's Champions League meeting with Slovan Bratislava.

Ederson, Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, Mateo Kovacic, Jack Grealish and Bernardo Silva come out of the team that drew with Newcastle United on Saturday.

They are replaced by Stefan Ortega Moreno, John Stones, Matheus Nunes, Savinho, Phil Foden and Jeremy Doku.

Official City magazine | October edition

After a goalless draw in our competition opener with Inter 13 days ago, we're looking to pick up our first win in the new league phase format.

It is our first ever meeting with a Slovakian side while this is Slovan's maiden appearance at this stage of Europe's elite club competition.

Tonight's match will also see us wear our third kit for the first time this season.

WATCH: Guardiola respect for Slovan 'courage'

Teams

CITY XI: Ortega Moreno, Lewis, Stones, Akanji, Gvardiol, Gundogan (C), Nunes, Savinho, Foden, Doku, Haaland

Subs: Ederson, Carson, Walker, Dias, Kovacic, Grealish, Bernardo, McAtee

SLOVAN BRATISLAVA XI: Takac, Kashia, Wimmer, Weiss (C), Tolic, Barseghyan, Bajric, Strelec, Blackman, Ihnatenko, Savvidis

Subs: Trnovsky, Hrdina, Voet, Medvedev, Marcelli, Mustafic, Mak, Zuberu, Pauschek, Gajdos, Szoke, Metsoko

Tactics

Stefan Ortega Moreno will be protected by a defence of Rico Lewis, John Stones, Manuel Akanji and Josko Gvardiol.

Ahead of them will be a midfield of Ilkay Gundogan and Matheus Nunes with Phil Foden operating in the playmaking 'No.10' role.

Savinho and Jeremy Doku will most likely alternate on the wings - all in support of central striker Erling Haaland.

WATCH: Stones: We all have to be ready to go

Match stats

● This will be the first meeting in major European competition between Slovan Bratislava and Manchester City. The hosts have won just two of their 12 matches against English opposition (D2 L8), losing all of their last five in a row.

● This is our first ever meeting with Slovakian opposition, with Slovakia becoming the 27th different nation that we have faced a club from in major European competition.

● This is Slovan Bratislava’s first ever home match in the UEFA Champions League. The Slovakian outfit however did win all six of their European Cup home matches, with their last ever such match coming against English opposition – a 1-0 win against Derby County in September 1975.

● Manchester City are unbeaten in each of our last 11 UEFA Champions League away matches (W5 D6), winning four of their last five such matches (D1). Indeed, this is already our longest ever unbeaten run on the road in the competition.

● This will be Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola’s first game against Slovan Bratislava. The last time he lost his first game against a side he had never previously faced as a manager was in September 2019, in a 2-3 defeat to Daniel Farke’s Norwich City in the Premier League. Indeed, Guardiola has won 27 of 28 games when facing a side for the first time since then (D1).

● Slovan Bratislava’s starting XI on MD1 had an average age of 30 years and 115 days (v Celtic); the oldest of any side across the opening round of the 2024-25 UEFA Champions League.

● Rodri made the most line-breaking passes of any midfielder on MD1 of this season’s UEFA Champions League, with 20 in Manchester City’s game against Internazionale. Indeed, the Spaniard averaged the most line-breaking passes per 90 of any player across the 2023-24 edition (24.3).

● Slovan Bratislava’s Vladimír Weiss could face his former side for the first time, over 14 years after making his final appearance for Manchester City (in January 2010 in an FA Cup game versus Middlesbrough).