Manchester City will travel to Slovakia for the first time in their history to face first-time Champions League side Slovan Bratislava on Tuesday evening.
Pep Guardiola's side are going through a rare period with just one win in their last four games, and they lost their top spot in the domestic league last weekend.
Latest Slovan Bratislava vs Man City team information
The big news of the week was that Rodri will miss the rest of the season due to a knee injury sustained against Arsenal, with the club confirming that he had torn his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the first half of the match.
Rico Lewis came on in midfield to fill the void against Newcastle, but Guardiola also has Matheus Nunes available to partner Mateo Kovacic.
Kevin De Bruyne was also absent from the weekend's trip, and is unlikely to be risked here, while Phil Foden could be handed his second start of the season, after returning to the bench against Newcastle.
Nathan Ake and Oscar Bobb remain sidelined through injury, while wing duo Savinho and Jeremy Doku could be included in the squad after being benched for Saturday's game.
Slovan fielded a strong squad at the weekend despite this game coming up, so few changes are expected to be made to the starting line-up.
Kenan Bajric is doubtful after not playing in that game, so Kevin Wimmer could continue at centre-back, with Jurij Medvedev at left-back. While Lukas Pauschek remains absent through injury, Danylo Ignatenko returned from a short lay-off as a substitute in the win over Michalovce at the weekend.
Slovan will likely start very defensively, but if they do get a chance to attack Man City, Marko Tolic will be the hosts' most important player, playing just behind centre-forward David Strelec.
Latest expected lineup for Slovan Bratislava vs Man City
Slovan Bratislava:
Takac; Blackman, Kashia, Wimmer, Medvedev; Kucka, Ignatenko, Tolic; Barseghyan, Strelec, Weiss Jr
Manchester City:
Ortega; Lewis, Stones, Akanji, Gvardiol; Matheus Nunes, Kovacic; Savinho, Foden, Doku; Haaland
Latest football commentary Slovan Bratislava vs Man City
Manchester City's Rodri-less life began with a 1-1 draw at Newcastle United on Saturday, when Anthony Gordon's second-half penalty equalised for the hosts after Josko Gvardiol had opened the scoring.
This means City's only win in their last four games came against Watford in the EFL Cup in midweek, when Guardiola's men needed a late goal to draw with Arsenal and were also held by Inter Milan in their Champions League opener.
Liverpool's win late on Saturday left City second in the Premier League, but there is no cause for concern as they have still only lost once in 90 minutes since December.
City go into this game as heavy favourites, and could equal the European Cup/Champions League unbeaten record if they avoid defeat, matching Manchester United's 25-match unbeaten run, set between 2007 and 2009.
After being held to a draw at home by Inter in their opening group game, this should be City's chance to kick-start their campaign, as the 2023 winners look to reclaim the title from Real Madrid.
This match could see the biggest financial disparity between the two clubs in the entire group stage, especially when considering the cost of assembling each squad and overall value.
Transfermarkt value Slovan Bratislava's squad at just £24m, while Man City are valued at £1.04bn, suggesting the hosts have little chance of ending a run of five straight defeats to English clubs.
The 5-1 defeat to Celtic to kick off their Champions League campaign was a huge blow for manager Vladimir Weiss a fortnight ago, and they could not have received a tougher test to respond to that.
Slovan have at least shown good form domestically, winning all three games since the defeat in Glasgow, scoring 12 goals in the process.
Weiss's side are currently top of the Slovakian top flight, but European football will provide a stiffer test, even if they have won four home games on European soil so far this season.
Ultimately, if they are to become the first Slovakian club to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League, that will not be decided here, or in the away trips to Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid, as Weiss is likely to highlight games against Girona, Dinamo Zagreb and Stuttgart to get the estimated nine points needed to qualify.
The gulf in quality between the teams is clear, and City will believe they can go close to a European record 7-0 win, despite coming into this game in unimpressive form.
A tough game awaits on their Champions League debut at home to Slovan, and after conceding five goals at Celtic, if Man City are ruthless, another ugly scoreline could be in store.
Slovan Bratislava vs Man City score prediction
Based on the above football comments, we and the world's leading football sites have given the results of the match Slovan Bratislava vs Man City as follows:
- Sportsmole: Slovan Bratislava 0-6 Man City
- WhoScore: Slovan Bratislava 0-4 Man City
- Our prediction: Slovan Bratislava 1-5 Man City
When and where to watch Slovan Bratislava vs Man City live?
To watch live the match Slovan Bratislava vs Man City in the Champions League taking place at 2:00 on October 2, viewers can watch on K+ Sport, K+PM or online sports channels. Wish you have fun watching football.
Source: https://baodaknong.vn/nhan-dinh-du-doan-slovan-bratislava-vs-man-city-mua-ban-thang-230582.html
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