8 Sept 2026

15:00Estadio do Dragao

Manchester City

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James Freemantle

Sep 07, 2026 03:33-04:00

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FC Porto vs Manchester City Champions League preview

Comprehensive match preview of Porto vs Man City in the Champions League. We talk tactics, team news, transfers, form and more.

Champions League - Game Week 1

8 Sept 2026 - 15:00

Estadio do Dragao

FC Porto vs Manchester City kicks off on 8 Sept 2026 at 15:00 EST and 20:00 GMT.

Match preview

The Champions League league phase gets underway with 2004 winners Porto hosting 2023 champions Manchester City in Porto. Both clubs have made 100% starts to their domestic campaigns.

Form teams meet in Europe

Embarking upon a Portuguese-record 28th UCL campaign, hope springs eternal at Porto. They've started their domestic season in perfect fashion, most recently beating Moreirense on Friday night. Francesco Farioli makes his UCL managerial debut. Porto is yet to lose at home in this calendar year while they have lost only one of their last 14 home European games (W10, D3).

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City have also made a 100% winning start to their Premier League season, beating Coventry 1-0 on Saturday thanks to another goal from Erling Haaland, the 300th of his career. Incredibly, the Citizens have lost nine of their last 17 UCL outings (W6, D2). This will be their first Champions League campaign without Pep Guardiola in the dugout since 2015-16, something that will take some getting used to.

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Key stats

Porto scored 2+ goals in only one of their last 16 meetings with English opposition.
13 of City’s last 15 UCL away matches produced over 2.5 goals.
Porto’s André Silva racked up six goal involvements in eight UCL appearances (G4, A2) during his first stint at the club.
Erling Haaland is two goals shy of Sergio Agüero’s all-time record of 36 UCL goals for City.

Manchester City v Coventry City - Premier League 2026/27

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Likely XIs

Porto (433): D. Costa; A. Costa, Perez, Kiwior, Moura; Fofana, Rosario, Veiga; Gomes, Silva, Pepe.

City (4231): Donnarumma; Nunes, Guehi, Dias, Ait-Nouri; Anderson, Bouaddi; Semenyo, Cherki, Foden; Haaland.

Team news & squads

FC Porto vs Manchester City Probable lineups

4-3-3

FC Porto

POR

Formation

Manchester City

MCI

4-1-4-1

Manager

F. Farioli

E. Maresca

FC Porto are managed by Francesco Farioli, though no confirmed injury or suspension information is currently available for the home side. No probable starting lineup has been released at this stage.

Enzo Maresca takes charge of Manchester City for this trip to Portugal, but the away side have also not yet confirmed injury or suspension details, and no projected XI has been published. Further team news updates will be added closer to kick-off.

Form

FC Porto arrive in this fixture having won all five of their most recent matches across all competitions, recording four wins in Liga Portugal and one in the Super Cup. Their last outing was a 3-0 victory away at Academico Viseu, and they also beat Arouca 2-0 and Rio Ave 2-0 in earlier league fixtures. Porto have scored eight goals across those five games while conceding none, a run that underlines the defensive solidity Farioli has built into this side.

Manchester City have won four of their last five matches, with their only defeat coming against Arsenal in the Community Shield, where they lost 3-0. Since then, Maresca's side have returned to winning ways in the Premier League, beating AFC Bournemouth 2-1 before a 4-1 victory at Crystal Palace. Across their last five games, City have scored 10 goals and conceded five.

Head-to-Head Record

The most recent meeting between these clubs came in December 2020, when a Champions League group-stage fixture at the Estadio do Dragao ended 0-0. Earlier that same campaign, Manchester City won 3-1 at home in October 2020. The two sides also met in the 2011-12 Europa League, with City winning both legs: 2-1 in Porto and 4-0 at home. Across the four recorded meetings, Manchester City have won three and drawn one, scoring ten goals to Porto's two.

Standings

#		P	W	D	L	F	A	+/-	PTS	Form
1	Club BruggeCLB	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	FeyenoordFEY	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	PSV EindhovenPSV	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	Paris Saint-GermainPSG	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	RomaROM	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	VfB StuttgartVFB	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	Real MadridRMA	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	InterINT	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	LensRCL	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	ArsenalARS	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	Atletico MadridATM	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	FC PortoPOR	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	Manchester UnitedMUN	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	ComoCOM	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	VillarrealVIL	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	Sporting CPSCP	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	AEK AthensAEK	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	Slavia PragueSLP	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	FenerbahceFB	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	RB LeipzigRBL	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	Manchester CityMCI	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	BarcelonaBAR	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	Real BetisBET	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	Bayern MunichFCB	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	Aston VillaAVL	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	LilleLIL	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	LASKLAS	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	LiverpoolLIV	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	Shakhtar DonetskSHK	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	Slovan BratislavaSLB	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	Bodoe/GlimtBOD	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	Borussia DortmundBVB	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	GalatasarayGAL	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	Sabah FKSAB	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	SSC NapoliNAP	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	VikingVIK	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0