Overview
- Manchester City open their 2026/27 Champions League group campaign at Porto at 8pm BST on Tuesday, with Maresca saying only a “perfect” performance will suffice.
- Maresca has signaled planned rotation to manage a busy run of games and to rest Haaland when needed, and he confirmed youngsters and recent arrivals Ayyoub Bouaddi, Ryan McAidoo and Iliman Ndiaye will get minutes in Europe.
- Porto arrive in strong form after an unbeaten domestic start and a long run of home resilience in European matches, making the Estadio Do Dragao a difficult first test for Maresca's side.
- Aston Villa also begin group play away to Club Brugge amid early domestic struggles, and UK viewers can watch Porto v Manchester City on Amazon Prime Video and Club Brugge v Aston Villa on TNT Sports via discovery+.
- City begin this European campaign after a heavy summer of spending that reshaped their midfield and marks their first Champions League season under Enzo Maresca following Pep Guardiola’s departure, a change that raises selection and fitness questions for the months ahead.