For Manchester City, some of their biggest guns will be either out, or potentially out, due to injury tomorrow night. First off, in case you missed it, Rodri is now done for the season, with an ACL injury. So that’s a big blow. Then you have striker Erling Haaland, who is a doubt for the trip to Slovan Bratislava due to a knock. The score draw with Newcastle United on Saturday saw him suffer a bloody ankle, but he played on and through the lunchtime fixture.
The Norwegian scoring machine should be okay for this one; expect Haaland to start.
UEFA Champions League Matchday 2 of 8
Manchester City at Slovan Bratislava
Kickoff: Tues. Oct. 1, 8pm, Tehelne Pole, Bratislava, Slovakia
Man City Preview Content: Team News Starting XI Prediction
UCL Standing, Form: Manchester City 20th, 1 pt, 0 GD, D Slovan Bratislava 34th, 0 pts, -4 GD, L
Man City Team News
Elsewhere Kevin de Bruyne suffered a groin injury in the UCL opener draw with Inter Milan, and has not played since. He’s probably not going to feature here. He may not feature until after the October international break, ditto for Dutch defender Nathan Ake.
Finally, Oscar Bobb is out until December.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.