Bouaddi handed full City debut - Foden and Nunes also start | OneFootball

Ayyoub Bouaddi makes his first full City start against Porto as Enzo Maresca makes three changes from the weekend win over Coventry.

Phil Foden and Matheus Nunes have also been named in the starting XI, with Elliot Anderson, Iliman Ndiaye and Abdukodir Khusanov all dropping to the bench.

Teams

CITY: Donnarumma, Nunes, Dias (C), Guéhi, Gvardiol, Bouaddi, Fernández, Foden, Cherki, Semenyo, Haaland

Subs: Bettinelli, Rulli, Anderson, Ndiaye, Kovačić, Aït-Nouri, Reis, Allan, Khusanov, McAidoo, Lewis

PORTO: D. Costa (C), A. Costa, Pérez, Kiwior, Fernandes, Rosario, Varela, Veiga, Gomes, Pepê, Silva

Subs: Ramos, J. Costa, Moura, Gomes, Souza, Hwang, Teixeira, Fofana, T. Silva, Sainz, Cunha, Gimenez

Likely formation

Gigio Donnarumma will have Nunes and Josko Gvardiol as his full-backs with Rúben Dias and Marc Guéhi in central defence.

Enzo Fernández, Rayan Cherki and Bouaddi are likely to be the midfield trio, with Foden, Antoine Semenyo and Erling Haaland our front three.

It looks like a fluid 4-3-3 on paper.

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THE DRAGON’S DEN

City will enter the Estádio do Dragão knowing Porto are a formidable force on their own soil.

The Portuguese champions won their 31st Primeira  Liga title last season and took 45 from a possible 51 points at home (14 wins, three draws and no losses).

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This campaign has started with three home wins out of three, and they have conceded just six goals in those last 20 games.

With a crowd of almost 50,000 partisan supporters behind them, the Blues will need to stand firm – particularly in the early stages – in order to withstand what could be intense pressure.

It’s a tough opening test for Enzo Maresca’s men who will be desperate to get early points on the board in the League Phase of the Champions League.

STATS AND FACTS

This will be the fifth meeting between Porto and Manchester City in major European competition, with the Portuguese side yet to record a victory, losing three and drawing the most recent meeting 0-0 in the 2020-21 UEFA Champions League group stage.

This is Porto’s first appearance in the UEFA Champions League since the 2023-24 season, when they reached the last  16 before being eliminated on penalties by Arsenal following a 1-1 aggregate draw.

Porto have won four of their last five home matches in the UEFA Champions League group stage (L1), this after winning just one of their previous five prior to this run (D1 L3).

City have lost both of our last two UEFA Champions League matches, losing to Real Madrid both home (1-2) and away (0-3) in the last 16 last season, whilst the Blues haven’t lost 3+ in a row in the competition since a run of four between March and September 2018.

City have won two of our last three away matches in the UEFA Champions’ League group stage (L1), this after failing to win any of their previous four prior to this run (D1 L3), although they did lose in their last group stage match on the road – going down 1-3 to Bodø/Glimt.

Porto have won just two of their last 16 major European matches against English opposition (D4 L10), failing to win any  of their last five (D2 L3) since a 1-0 win against Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League last 16 in 2023-24.

City have lost just two of our last11 matches against Portuguese opposition in major European competition (W6 D3), although they we are winless in the last two, drawing 0-0 with Sporting CP in the 2021-22 UEFA Champions League last 16 and losing 1-4 to the same opponents in the group stage of the 2024-25 edition.

Erling Haaland has scored 57 goals in 58 UEFA Champions League matches; one more would take him above Thomas Müller into outright seventh for most goals in the competition’s history. The Norwegian has scored 16 in his last 18  appearances in the competition.

Rúben Dias could make his 50th UEFA Champions League start for City, becoming the eighth different  player to make 50+ starts in the competition for the club. He has won 69.4% of his matches in the competition for City as a  starter (P49 W34).