Slovan Bratislava vs. Man City lineups, expected starting 11, confirmed team news and injuries: Guardiola to start Foden?

Dom Farrell

Slovan Bratislava vs. Man City lineups, expected starting 11, confirmed team news and injuries: Guardiola to start Foden? image

Manchester City are seeking a first UEFA Champions League win of the season when they travel to face Slovan Bratislava.

Pep Guardiola's side took a point from matchday one as the rematch of the 2023 final with Inter Milan finished goalless at the Etihad Stadium.

That's the sort of start Slovan would dearly have loved to call their own as they were put to the sword 5-1 at Celtic.

For this first meeting between the two clubs, the Sporting News has all the latest team news and confirmed starting XIs.

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Slovan Bratislava vs. Man City lineups, predicted starting 11, team news

Former City youngster Vladimir Weiss, now 34, is Slovan's captain. His father and namesake is the head coach of the Slovakian giants. Another former academy graduate in Manchester, Robert Mak, is on the Slovan bench.

Weiss the elder will have to do without right-back Lukas Pauschek due to a shoulder injury, although fellow defender Kenan Bajric has passed a late fitness test.

Slovan Bratislava (4-2-3-1, right to left): Takac (GK) — Blackman, Kashia, Bajric, Wimmer — Savvidis, Innatenko — Barseghyan, Tolic, Weiss — Strelec

Injured: Pauschek, Bajric (doubt)
Suspended: None

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At his pre-match news conference. Guardiola confirmed Kevin De Bruyne (groin) will return after the October international break. That means a start for Phil Foden, who impressed in a substitute cameo at Newcastle last weekend on the way back from an absence of his own.

Matheus Nunes starts in midfield, with Ilkay Gundogan dropping deeper as Guardiola continues to assess his options to account for Rodri's season-long absence. Stefan Ortega gets a runout in goal, with Ederson dropping to the bench.

Oscar Bobb (broken leg) and Nathan Ake (hamstring) remain sidelined.

Man City (4-3-3, right to left): Ederson (GK) — Lewis, Akanji, Stones, Gvardiol — Nunes, Gundogan, Foden — Savinho, Haaland, Doku

Injured: 
Suspended: None

Slovan Bratislava vs. Man City live stream, TV channel

Here's how to watch this Champions League match across selected areas of the world's major regions:

RegionTVStreaming
USATUDN USA, UniMasParamount+Fubo, ViX, TUDN.com, Univision Now, TUDN App
CanadaDAZNFubo
UKTNT Sports 1discovery+
AustraliaStan Sport
IndiaJioTV, Sony LIV

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Dom Farrell

Dom Farrell Photo

Dom is the senior content producer for Sporting News UK. He previously worked as fan brands editor for Manchester City at Reach Plc. Prior to that, he built more than a decade of experience in the sports journalism industry, primarily for the Stats Perform and Press Association news agencies. Dom has covered major football events on location, including the entirety of Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup in Paris and St Petersburg respectively, along with numerous high-profile Premier League, Champions League and England international matches. Cricket and boxing are his other major sporting passions and he has covered the likes of Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, Wladimir Klitschko, Gennadiy Golovkin and Vasyl Lomachenko live from ringside.