Evening Standard
·30. September 2025
Man City XI vs Monaco: Confirmed team news, predicted lineup, injury latest for Champions League

In partnership with
Yahoo sportsEvening Standard
·30. September 2025
Pep Guardiola facing big selection call for Man City’s second fixture in this season’s league phase of the Champions League
Manchester City were without the influential midfielder for Saturday’s 5-1 win over Burnley, as the Spaniard complained to Guardiola about pain in his knee.
Taking into account Rodri is slowly easing his way back to full fitness after missing a big chunk of last season with an ACL injury, it was understandable that the Man City manager did not hesitate to leave out the 29-year-old.
"Rodri was training and said, 'I'm not able to play. I have a lot of pain in my knee. I cannot play, I cannot play’,” Guardiola revealed after the win over Burnley.
“And I said, 'if you cannot play, you cannot play'.”
Rodri took part in Man City’s training session on Tuesday morning which would suggest he will be in contention to face Monaco on Wednesday night.
That said, with a trip to Brentford and the international break on the horizon, Guardiola is unlikely to take any chances with the Spaniard and therefore, Nico Gonzalez could get the nod in midfield alongside Tijjani Reijnders.
Boost: Rodri
Getty Images
Phil Foden could be rested to allow for captain Bernardo Silva to line-up against his former club, while the likes of Gianluigi Donnarumma, Josko Gvardiol, Ruben Dias, Erling Haaland and Jeremy Doku are all expected to start.
Rayan Cherki has returned to training ahead of schedule, but this game is likely to come too soon for a start. Omar Marmoush, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Abdukodir Khusanov remain sidelined and Kalvin Phillips is ineligible for squad registration reasons.
Predicted Man City XI: Donnarumma; Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly; Nico, Reijnders; Bobb, Bernardo, Doku; Haaland
Injured: Marmoush, Ait-Nouri, Khusanov
Doubts: Rodri, Cherki
Ineligible: Phillips
Time and date: 8pm BST on Wednesday, October 1, 2025
Venue: Etihad Stadium
Live
Live
Live
Live
Live
Live