Haaland returns for Man City as Guardiola rings the changes ahead of must-win Champions League clash with Galatasaray | OneFootball

Manchester City still have faint hopes of avoiding the play-offs and moving directly into the Champions League round of 16.

However, they need to get past Galatasaray, who have already settled for a play-off spot.

Man City head into the final league phase 11th in the table, level on points with Paris Saint-Germain, Newcastle United, Chelsea, Barcelona and Sporting CP.

After a frustrating Champions League campaign last season, when City scraped into the top 24 by finishing 22nd, expectations were much higher this time around.

Pep Guardiola’s side initially looked ready to meet those demands.

They started strongly, winning three of their first four matches (D1), with eye-catching victories over Napoli and Borussia Dortmund setting the tone.

A disappointing 2-0 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen brought their momentum to an abrupt halt, but it wasn’t enough to keep City down for too long.

City wasted no time bouncing back as they won the subsequent eight fixtures across all competitions.

However, 2026 hasn’t been kind to Guardiola’s side. The recent 2-0 success over Wolverhampton Wanderers snapped a four-match winless streak in the Premier League (D3, L1).

They’re also heading into this Champions League contest on the back of three wins in eight games across all competitions (D3, L2).

How Man City could line up

Man City suffered a damaging 3-1 defeat against Bodo/Glimt in their last Champions League outing, so they’ll be keen to bounce back on home turf.

The Cityzens can’t afford another setback against the Turkish champions, so Guardiola could make up to five changes to refresh his troops.

Gianluigi Donnarumma starts in goal while Nathan Ake comes in for winter signing Marc Guehi, partnering Abdulkodir Khusanov, Matheus Nunes and Nico O’Reilly in defence.

Rico Lewis may be tasked with anchoring the midfield with Jeremy Doku, Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden, and Rayan Cherki ahead of him.

Omar Marmoush’s fine performance against Wolves could be enough to keep him in the team.

However, Erling Braut Haaland will be pushing for a recall, hoping to end his five-match goal drought in this must-win encounter.

Predicted Man City starting XI