Manchester City kick off their 20/21 Champions League campaign against FC Porto and they will do so without one of their most important players. Their European campaign ended in disappointing fashion last season as they lost in the quarterfinals to Lyon.
They will obviously want to go further this time around, and finally break on through to the championship game for the first time. Winning the UCL is what manager Pep Guardiola himself has said he will be judged upon.
As for the team news, the big worry is the absence of Kevin de Bruyne who got injured while on International duty. He will be joining the likes of Gabriel Jesus, Aymeric Laporte, Benjamin Mendy and Oleksandr Zinchenko on the sidelines.
The good news is that Sergio Aguero will be available. Having the Argentine back in the team is a big boost. So how will Guardiola set up his squad, given the players that are missing?
In goal, Ederson will continue on with the Brazilian was one of the biggest reasons they got a win over the Gunners on Sunday. They are very likely to go with a 4-3-3 formation which will see Kyle Walker and Joao Cancelo playing as the full backs. The latter is right footed but his experience playing in this position will come in handy.
The absence of Laporte is a huge blow but City have good cover in the form of Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake, both of whom will likely be starting the game.
It is in midfield that Guardiola will have to make changes in order to compensate for the loss of De Bruyne. Bernardo Silva did start at the weekend, but he will be given a rest so as to not aggravate the injury he just returned from.
Thus, we would be seeing a midfield trio of Fernandinho, Ilkay Gundogan and Phil Foden. The Englishman in particular has been in great form this season as he has gone a long way in cementing his place in the team.
Coming to the front three, having their record goal scorer Aguero back will provide the Manchester City attack with a lot of experience and quality. Providing added firepower will be Ferran Torres and Raheem Sterling on the wings.
Torres will be brought in to give Riyad Mahrez some rest and Sterling will look to continue his goal scoring ways. City will want to get their campaign off to a bright start and Wednesday against Porto is a good time to do that.
Predicted Manchester City Starting XI Against FC Porto (4-3-3):
Ederson, Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake, Joao Cancelo, Fernandinho, Ilkay Gundogan, Phil Foden, Ferran Torres, Sergio Aguero, Raheem Sterling
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