Man City squad for Champions League group phase confirmed

straight to your inboxManchester City are open to welcoming Pablo Zabaleta back to the Etihad after the club legend confirmed his retirement. Zabaleta made over 300 appearances for the Blues in his nine years in Manchester and was an integral part of the Premier League title-winning sides under Roberto Mancini in 2012 and Manuel Pellegrini in 2014.

straight to your inboxKoeman hands City Messi boost Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman has not ruled out Lionel Messi leaving the club next summer. The Barca star confirmed over the summer his intention to leave the Camp Nou, but after a stand-off with the club regarding the validity of a release clause he opted to stay and avoid a damaging court battle.

straight to your inboxAymeric Laporte and Benjamin Mendy both miss Manchester City's game with Arsenal in the Premier League due to injury. The pair started at Elland Road - City's last fixture - and spent the international break training at the City Football Academy given they were not needed with their national team.

straight to your inboxMikel Arteta has described Manchester City's mixed start to the new season as 'unlucky' as he prepares to take his Arsenal side to the Etihad.Former City assistant Arteta has led Arsenal to three wins out of four in the Premier League, while the Blues have one win and one draw from their first three games.With Arteta knowing this City side better than perhaps any other manager, he is well placed to discuss why Pep Guardiola's men have already dropped points twice - in the

straight to your inbox Manchester City fans would play Joao Cancelo over Benjamin Mendy in their strongest starting line -up if all players were fit. Left-back has become a contentious area, with Mendy having the backing of the club, but fans are unimpressed with his start to the season that has already seen City drop five points in the Premier League.

Manchester United fans lauded Patrice Evra after he trolled Manchester City while wishing Sir Bobby Charlton a happy birthday. United legend Charlton turned 83 on October 11 and Evra paid tribute to the World Cup winner in an Instagram post.Evra wrote: "Happy Birthday @SirBobbyCharlton.

Manchester United and Manchester City will face a quick turnaround when they return from the international break.Both sides face Premier League games on October 17 before the Champions League group stage kicks off in midweek.The Reds are in action against PSG on Tuesday, October 20, with City facing Porto the following day.There are also some rule changes to prepare for in this season's competition.In contrast to the Premier League, UEFA have retained the decision to allow clubs to make five

straight to your inboxChampions League squad confirmed. Manchester City have confirmed their squad for the group stage of the 2020/21 Champions League.

straight to your inbox Manchester City named their 21-man squad for the Champions League group phase on Thursday morning, and Phil Foden's absence from the 'A list' of players may have raised eyebrows among some supporters.

straight to your inboxSven-Goran Eriksson says Manchester City's lack of transfer activity suggests Pep Guardiola is confident in his squad's ability to challenge for major trophies.City have added three players to their first-team in this transfer window, with Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake and Ferran Torres all joining. It has meant a quiet deadline day, with most of the focus being on whether Eric Garcia will stay at the club after interest from Barcelona.

straight to your inbox Leeds changed their approach in the second half of their Premier League draw with Manchester City to specifically target the Blues defence and earn a point at Elland Road. That is according to Leeds midfielder Kalvin Phillips, who helped his side to a deserved draw after going in 1-0 down at the break.

straight to your inbox Manchester United will get their Champions League campaign underway with an away trip to Paris Saint-Germain. The draw for the group stages of Europe's top competition was held in Geneva on Thursday with United being drawn in Group H, which has been dubbed the 'Group of Death,' alongside last year's runners up PSG, last year's semi-finalists RB Leipzig and newcomers Istanbul Basaksehir.

straight to your inboxParis Saint-Germain star Marquinhos has opened up on facing Manchester United for the first time since their controversial elimination in 2018.United turned around a two-goal first-leg deficit to win 3-1 at the Parc des Princes and progress to the quarter-finals on away goals.The decisive goal came from the penalty spot in the dying seconds of the game, with Pascal Kimpembe penalised for handball by VAR, and Marcus Rashford smashing home the penalty to send Ole Gunnar

straight to your inboxWhen it comes to net spend, Manchester City are top of the tree in English football.City have splashed out more than any other club in the pyramid, spending £867m more than they have brought in since the start of the 2011/12 season.That’s more than twice as much as Liverpool, who beat City to the Premier League title last season, while Manchester United (£814m) are the only club in English football with even half of City’s net spend over the period in question.The figures

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola believes Manchester City are finished in the transfer market this summer after the arrival of Ruben Dias. The 23-year-old joined City on Tuesday for a fee of £65.2 million and will provide a much-needed boost to Guardiola’s backline.The club still have an eye on the market as they consider potential options at left-back in the wake of Benjamin Mendy’s poor performance against Leicester City on Sunday.

straight to your inbox Txiki Begiristain says Manchester City need to replace their simple desire to win the Champions League with an real belief they can win it, as he reacted to the group stage draw which was made on Thursday. City were paired with FC Porto, Olympiacos and Marseille in the group stage draw, with Director of Football Begiristain declaring his happiness at the way the draw played out.