Manchester City

Mike Minay
BBC Radio Manchester reporter

Image source, Getty Images

I was wrong. There were no Champions League questions for Pep Guardiola to bat away at today's press conference.

He quickly dismissed the idea of any signings coming into City on transfer deadline day, but when asked whether the club had "failed" to find a replacement for Julian Alvarez, Guardiola said he did not have any concerns with multiple players who can play in his position.

Ballon d’Or voting opens next week and after an unbeaten season (up to the very last game), I asked him whether Rodri should be in the running.

"He deserves it," Guardiola replied. "Not just for this season, but for the past few he has been with City."

West Ham will provide City's latest test on Saturday, a side with a "really good squad" according to the boss. And that is his focus tomorrow, not joining the online queue for Oasis tickets - although he did say it was "fantastic" to have them back.

Listen to Mike speak with Ilkay Gundogan and hear more from Guardiola on Oasis here

• Listen to West Ham v Manchester City via BBC Radio Manchester on BBC Sounds from 17:30 BST on Saturday

Former Arsenal and Chelsea midfielder and Planet Premier League pundit Cesc Fabregas believes the transfer window should close before the season begins.

Listen to the Planet Premier League podcast on BBC Sounds

Craig Nelson
BBC Sport Journalist

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game at West Ham (kick-off 17:30 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Rodri and Mateo Kovacic are back fit and in contention to face West Ham, but Guardiola says that Phil Foden "still doesn't feel good", although the rest of the squad are "OK".

• Guardiola sounded confident about the chances of returning midfielder Ilkay Gundogan being ready to play a part on Saturday: "He needs one minute, no more than that, to settle. He's a top-class player and he knows the mechanics of what we try to do. We knew it and it has happened."

• There was no emotion in Guardiola's expression when asked if he would be having a quiet transfer deadline day. "Yep," he replied, with a flat bat.

• On whether not signing a replacement for Julian Alvarez could prove to be a mistake: "I am happy with the squad. We didn't expect Julian was leaving. Of course, if we have many injuries it could be a problem. Maybe it is a mistake, I don't know, but I like to work with not a long, long squad. I don't like to leave a lot of players without playing for a long time."

• Guardiola said that "it is better to wait" if not sure about a player, adding: "In winter we have another chance, so if I am not convinced then it is better not to take that step."

• On Rodri's chances of winning the Ballon d'Or: "I would love for one player [from City] to win this award. For the players it means a lot - I would love it. I have said many times when a player has been in contention it means that the player and the club - individually and collectively - have done a good season. There are a lot of good teams with a lot of good players. It could happen [for a City player] but it is not in my hands."

• On whether he will be more focused on West Ham or booking Oasis tickets on Saturday morning: "[Laughs] Absolutely West Ham. If we can go then we will go, absolutely. Good news for world music that they are back. It's fantastic for their thousand million fans they have around the world, especially here in England and the UK."

• Finally, Guardiola heaped praise on "special" manager Julen Lopetegui and his West Ham side: "New managers at new places always need time. He's an experienced manager. He's been at Real Madrid, the Spain national team. Sevilla is a demanding place, so he has a lot of experience. He's an unbelievable person. West Ham added to what they already had. They had a really good squad and this summer have brought in new top players, especially up front, [where] with their physicality they have incredible weapons. A really strong team."

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the action from transfer deadline day

Mike Minay
BBC Radio Manchester reporter

Image source, Getty Images

It should be a straightforward news conference for Pep Guardiola later. His team have smoothly started the Premier League with two wins from two.

Transfer deadline day will, of course, be on the agenda, although it is my understanding it will be quiet on that front for the Blues - both with ins and outs.

There will be a check on the fitness of Rodri, who is yet to feature this season, and Guardiola may be asked about the England call-ups, with four City players in Lee Carsley’s first Three Lions selection.

And with the Champions League draw having taken place and City learning their opponents there might be a question on this - but past experience tells me it will be met with an “it is what it is” approach from the manager.

Come back to this page later on for all the key lines from Guardiola.

Listen to Total Sport on BBC Radio Manchester every weeknight at 18:00 and listen to every Manchester City game - home and away - live on BBC Radio Manchester.

We asked what you have made of Manchester City's transfer window so far, and what needs to be done on deadline day.

Here are some of your comments:

Ian: I'm more than happy with the transfer activity during this window. The squad appears to have all bases covered, with room for the emerging academy talents to become involved and hopefully prosper.

Arun: I think we need two strikers, due to the departure of Julian Alvarez and the fact that Erling Haaland can be injury prone. The depth of our forwards is not the best.

Brian: We must have a proper out-and-out striker to stand in for Haaland or to play alongside him. It would be a direct replacement for Alvarez. The rest of the squad is ideal. I just worry as a lengthy injury to Haaland could scupper our whole season, if you bear in mind those extra Champions League games and the Club World Cup games come May/June.

Alan: We really should buy Eberechi Eze. It is great that we have KDB and Gundogan, but they are both over 30 and sadly we have lost Oscar Bobb for most of this year. I believe he would add that something extra but I doubt we will go for him.

Here's all you need to know about transfer deadline day on Friday...

When does the window close?

The transfer window will close at 23:00 BST on Friday, 30 August for the Premier League, English Football League and Scotland.

The date was brought forward by the domestic leagues to align with European leagues.

Across Europe, the Bundesliga window will close at 19:00, Ligue 1 at 22:00, La Liga at 22:59 and Serie A at 23:00, but the Saudi Pro League transfer window remains open until 7 September.

Can a Premier League player signed on deadline day play this weekend?

Under league rules, new signings are eligible for the next Premier League game if the club submit the required documents by midday on the last working day before that match.

So any player signed after 12:00 on deadline day would be unable to play in this round of Premier League fixtures.

Where can I see all the confirmed transfer deals on deadline day?

You can find all the deals completed on transfer deadline day within our dedicated confirmed transfers page.

When does the January transfer window open?

Clubs will be able to make transfers again from Wednesday, 1 January until Monday, 3 February at 23:00 GMT. This is the same in Germany, Italy, Spain and France.

How can I follow transfer deadline day on the BBC?

We have this live page dedicated to all the latest transfer news, reaction and analysis.

You will also find regular updates on BBC Radio 5 Live and breaking news across BBC Sport's social media channels, including X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

There will also be a special edition of The Football News Show on BBC iPlayer and the Red Button from 22:00 until 23:15.

Manchester City defender Kyle Walker has been recounting his Premier League debut and what it was like coming up against the legendary Kanu.

Listen to the full episode of You'll Never Beat Kyle Walker on BBC Sounds

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Manchester City's Champions League draw is complete - Pep Guardiola's side finally know which eight clubs they will meet in the new 36-team league format.

As a reminder, all of the teams that have qualified for the Champions League this year will be in one 36-team league phase, rather than the past format of eight four-team groups.

City will face: Inter Milan (H), Paris St-Germain (A), Club Bruges (H), Juventus (A), Feyenoord (H), Sporting Lisbon (A), Sparta Prague (H), Slovan Bratislava (A).

The order in which those fixtures will take place will be announced on Saturday by Uefa.

Champions League group phase dates:

Matchday 1: 17–19 September 2024

Matchday 2: 1-2 October 2024

Matchday 3: 22-23 October 2024

Matchday 4: 5-6 November 2024

Matchday 5: 26-27 November 2024

Matchday 6: 10-11 December 2024

Matchday 7: 21-22 January 2025

Matchday 8: 29 January 2025

Champions League knockout stage dates:

Knockout round play-offs: 11-12 and 18-19 February 2025

Round of 16: 4-5 and 11-12 March 2025

Quarter-finals: 8-9 and 15-16 April 2025

Semi-finals: 29-30 April and 6-7 May 2025

Final: 31 May 2025, Munich

See how the rest of the draw panned out

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester City, Arsenal Liverpool and Aston Villa are about to find out who they will face in the new league phase of this season's competition.

Follow it all unfold here

On the latest episode of You'll Never Beat Kyle Walker, Manchester City's former Tottenham full-back reflects on how he almost got to train with David Beckham at Spurs.

Listen to a full episode here

Interim head coach Lee Carsley has named his first England squad for September's Nations League games against the Republic of Ireland and Finland.

Newcastle defender Tino Livramento, Nottingham Forest's Morgan Gibbs-White, Lille's Angel Gomes and Chelsea's Noni Madueke are the four new caps named.

The transfer deadline is almost upon us, so tell us what you've made of your club's business and if more is needed?

Send your thoughts here, external

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Erling Haaland has scored 16 goals in 10 Premier League appearances in August, averaging a goal every 52 minutes - the best minutes-per-goal ratio by a player in a particular month in Premier League history (minimum 500 minutes played).

Manchester City's Burkina Faso right-back Issa Kabore, 23, is set to complete a season-long loan move to Benfica. (Sky Sports), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column

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The draw has been made for the Carabao Cup third round, with 17 Premier League clubs having made it through or entering at this stage.

There are three all-Premier League fixtures, including holders Liverpool hosting West Ham in a repeat of last season's quarter-final.

Ties will be played in the weeks commencing 16 September and 23 September.

All the fixtures featuring top-flight sides are shown below:

• AFC Wimbledon v Newcastle United

• Arsenal v Bolton Wanderers

• Brentford v Leyton Orient

• Brighton & Hove Albion v Wolverhampton Wanderers

• Chelsea v Barrow

• Coventry City v Tottenham Hotspur

• Everton v Southampton

• Liverpool v West Ham United

• Manchester City v Watford

• Manchester United v Barnsley

• Preston North End v Fulham

• Queens Park Rangers v Crystal Palace

• Walsall v Leicester City

• Wycombe Wanderers v Aston Villa

See the full draw

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has given a £10,000 bonus to each member of his first-team support staff as a gesture of appreciation for their work last season.

The gift was received by all City staff who work in the first-team building at the City Football Academy within the Etihad Campus.

Sources say the money came directly from Guardiola, with the overall total outlay in excess of £500,000.

It is understood to include kit men, security staff and physios.

The City boss often uses his pre-match news conferences to highlight the wider contribution beyond himself and his immediate coaches in delivering a squad that consistently hits such high standards.

Last season, City became the first team in English football to win the league title in four consecutive seasons. They also reached the Champions League quarter-finals for the seventh successive season.

They have also reached at least the semi-finals of the FA Cup for the past five years.

The new-look Champions League draw will be held on Thursday from 17:00 BST and you can watch it live on the BBC Sport website.

Teams will discover which eight clubs they will meet (four at home and four away) - but no actual groups will be drawn.

All the teams will be in one 36-team league phase, as compared to the past format of eight four-team groups.

So how will the draw work?

Teams will be placed in four pots according to their seeding. Each team face two teams from each pot, one at home and one away.

A team will be drawn out of a pot and then Uefa's software will decide their eight opponents - and whether they will be at home or away.

It means more matches between the biggest teams. For example, Manchester City could face Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Barcelona.

The software stops teams playing rivals from their own country - and means each team can only play two clubs from any one country.

Uefa says the computer system plans ahead so will ensure no teams further down the line get drawn against teams they cannot face.

How does the new format work?

Teams who finish in the top eight will qualify automatically for the last 16, while those who place ninth to 24th will compete in a two-legged knockout play-off for the chance to join them.

Whoever finishes 25th or lower will be eliminated and will not be entered into the Europa League.

From the last 16 onwards, the Champions League will continue to follow its existing format with the final taking place at a neutral venue - Munich this year.

The number of matches in the new format will increase from 125 to 189.

Each team will play a minimum of eight - instead of six - and a maximum of 17.

The league phase will now run until the end of January instead of ending before Christmas.

Find out more about the draw and how you can watch it live on the BBC here

In the latest episode of You'll Never Beat Kyle Walker, the Manchester City right-back talks about signing for the club and how he and John Stones became "inseparable".

Listen to the new episode on BBC Sounds

As transfer deadline day looms, what do Manchester City need to do - if anything - before it's too late? Or are you happy with where things are up to?

Tell us here, external

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The draw for the third round of the Carabao Cup will take place on Wednesday at the conclusion of the second-round tie between Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United.

The seven English clubs involved in European competitions this season, including holders Liverpool, will enter at the third-round stage.

Ties will take place on weeks commencing 16 and 23 September.

Because there are rounds of Champions League and Europa League fixtures also scheduled for those two midweeks, the six clubs involved in those competitions - Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Aston Villa, Tottenham and Manchester United - will be kept apart to ensure they can fulfil their Carabao Cup tie in the alternate midweek to their European fixture.

Those six clubs will take part in a pre-draw before Forest v Newcastle to decide if they will be at home or away in the third round, with a main draw determining the 16 ties later in the evening.

Should Chelsea progress to the next phase of the Conference League, they will not be in action in that competition again until the start of October.

Manchester City are yet to make a decision on the future of Matheus Nunes, but the club are aware of Atletico Madrid's interest in the midfielder. (ESPN), external

Want more transfer news? Read Wednesday's full gossip column