Champions League | League Stage

Oct 1, 2024 at 8pm UK

Stadion Tehelne pole

Slovan Bratislavavs.Man City

Match preview

Rodri's absence from Manchester City's lineup was evident from the start of their match against Newcastle United on Saturday. Anthony Gordon's second-half penalty equalized Josko Gvardiol's early goal.

That means City's only win in their last four matches was against Watford in the EFL Cup last midweek. They drew with Arsenal, who were playing in the Premier League, and were also held by Inter Milan on matchday one of the Champions League.

Liverpool's win later on Saturday means City have dropped to second in the Premier League, but there's no need to worry as they've only lost once in 90 minutes since December.

City are the clear favourites going into this match and could equal Manchester United's European Cup/Champions League unbeaten record if they avoid defeat once more. United had a 25-game unbeaten streak between 2007 and 2009.

After a disappointing draw with Inter in their opening league match, City have a great opportunity to get their campaign back on track. The 2023 winners are aiming to reclaim the trophy from Real Madrid.

This match could see the biggest difference in finances between the two clubs across the entire league phase. Especially when it comes to the cost of putting each squad together and the overall value.

Transfermarkt puts the value of Slovan Bratislava at just £24m, while Man City is valued at £1.04bn. This suggests that the hosts have very little chance of ending their current five-game losing streak against English clubs.

A 5-1 defeat at Celtic to kick off their first Champions League campaign was a big wake-up call for manager Vladimir Weiss two weeks ago. They couldn't have been handed a tougher challenge to respond to.

On the home front, Slovan have been on a winning streak, taking all three of their matches since the thrashing in Glasgow, with 12 goals scored along the way.

Weiss's team is currently top of the Slovakian league, but the European stage will be a much sterner test, even if they have won all four of their home matches in Europe this season.

Ultimately, if they want to become the first Slovakian club to make it through to the Champions League knockouts, that won't be decided here or on their trips to Bayern Munich and Atlético Madrid. Weiss is likely to focus on games against Girona, Dinamo Zagreb and Stuttgart to get the estimated nine points they need to make it through.

Recent Performance

Slovan Bratislava Champions League form:WWDDWL

Slovan Bratislava form (all competitions):WLWLWW

Manchester City Champions League form:D

Manchester City form (all competitions):WWDDWD

Injuries and suspensions

Bratislava

No sidelined players

Manchester City

52O. Bobb

16Rodri

17K. De Bruyne

6N. Ake

Possible starting lineups

Slovan Bratislava possible starting lineup:

Takac; Blackman, Kashia, Wimmer, Medvedev; Kucka, Ignatenko, Tolic; Barseghyan, Strelec, Weiss Jr

Manchester City possible starting lineup:

Ortega; Lewis, Stones, Akanji, Gvardiol; Matheus Nunes, Kovacic; Savinho, Foden, Doku; Haaland