Manchester City continue their Champions League campaign when they travel to Slovakia to face Slovan Bratislava on Tuesday night.
City have been dealt some blows in recent weeks, losing influential midfielder Rodri for the season and Kevin De Bruyne for the last few matches. They drew their first European game against Inter and have slipped off the top of the Premier League table after the 1-1 with Newcastle United on Saturday.
Opponents Bratislava got off to the worst possible start against Celtic, being thumped 5-1 in Scotland, and face a tough task to reach the knockout stages with a difficult fixture list.
Here’s 90min’s preview for City’s next fixture.
Slovan Bratislava vs Man City H2H Record
This is the first competitive fixture between Slovan Bratislava and Manchester City.
Current form (all competitions)
|
Slovan Bratislava |
Man City |
|---|---|
|
Zemplin Michalovce 2-4 Slovan Bratislava – 27/09/24 |
Newcastle 1-1 Man City – 28/09/24 |
|
Slovan Bratislava vs Ruzomberok – 21/09/24 |
Man City 2-1 Watford – 24/09/24 |
|
Celtic 5-1 Slovan Bratislava – 18/09/24 |
Man City 2-2 Arsenal – 22/09/24 |
|
DAC 1904 Dunajska Streda 1-2 Slovan Bratislava – 14/09/24 |
Man City 0-0 Inter – 18/09/24 |
|
Slovan Bratislava 0-5 Zilina – 01/09/24 |
Man City 2-1 Brentford – 14/09/24 |
|
Country |
TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
discovery+, discovery+ App, TNT Sports 1 |
|
United States |
Paramount+, ViX |
|
Canada |
DAZN Canada |
Kenan Bajric is doubtful to feature for Tuesday night’s hosts, with former Tottenham Hotspur defender Kevin Wimmer ready to step in if required. Lukas Pauschek is also out of action.
There will likely be a start for 112-time Slovakia international and former Watford midfielder Juraj Kucka.
Slovan Bratislava predicted lineup vs Man City (4-2-3-1): Takac; Blackman, Kashia, Wimmer, Medvedev; Kucka, Ignatenko; Barseghyan, Tolic, Weiss; Strelec.
Man City continue to be without Rodri after his season-ending injury at Arsenal, while Kevin De Bruyne missed the draw with Newcastle and hasn’t been included in the traveling squad.
Guardiola could make a few changes to his most recent XI. Phil Foden is chasing just his second start of 2024/25 in all competitions, while there may be a rest for Kyle Walker after starting City’s last three matches.
Oscar Bobb and Nathan Ake also remain sidelined for the Cityzens.
Man City predicted lineup vs Slovan Bratislava (4-2-3-1): Ederson; Lewis, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol; Kovacic, Gundogan; Silva, Foden, Doku; Haaland.
City haven’t been at their free-flowing best of late, winning just one of their last four games. While they remain unbeaten, Guardiola’s side need to rediscover both their ruthless streak and a viable way to get more victories without the influential Rodri.
That could make Bratislava ideal opponents. The Slovakians have already lost a match 5-0 at home this season and were dismantled against Celtic in their first Champions League outing.
City will want to establish themselves at the top of the league phase and a convincing away win would take them towards the summit after their opening draw.
