Manchester City

Karan Vinod
BBC Sport journalist

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Premier League game against Brighton at Amex Stadium (kick-off 14:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Guardiola confirmed that Rayan Ait-Nouri is available for selection and there are no other fresh injury concerns. He "hopes" to have Savinho back after the international break.

• On transfer activity and Savinho's future: "When the transfer window closes, then you can ask me about that. Don't ask me about rumours and potential arrivals. Next week. Always have been [happy with the squad size]."

• Guardiola said he is not the kind of "manager to complain much about the squad" and "it is what it is and the club is doing the best". He also stated that he recognised how much the players tried last season to "do well".

• On goalkeeper James Trafford's morale: "Always have the arm around their shoulders - they don't believe how we take care of them. Impossible to be better. What happened doesn't belong just to James in the second goal. He is a strong man and a huge personality. We are here to help them, no doubt about that."

• Guardiola revealed he has yet to decide who will start in goal against Brighton, adding that the decision will be made on Saturday because he is not scheduled to hold a news conference.

• On inconsistency in performances: "It is one game at a time. The season has just started and it's only been two games - and just with two games, I have a feeling that we will have a good season. I know the people maybe don't believe it."

• On Brighton: "Really good team - they proved it last season. They have been a really good team for a long time."

• The City manager confirmed he has "spoken with Rodri" following the midfielder's call-up to the Spain squad for the upcoming international break, amid concerns over managing his minutes and gradually easing him back in.

• Guardiola said he is happy with the "honours of having the most games" as a visiting manager at the Bernabeu after being drawn against Real Madrid once again in the Champions League.

• On also facing Kevin de Bruyne and Leroy Sane in the group phase of the competition: "I am really pleased that they can come back here and, of course, we have to beat the two teams - Napoli and Galatasaray. But it is nice to bring them back, and we can give a great welcome to them because they deserve it."

Hear more from Guardiola on BBC Sounds

Listen to BBC Radio 5 Live match commentary of Brighton v Man City at 14:00 on Sunday

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

England boss Thomas Tuchel has selected his 24-man squad for the September World Cup qualifiers.

Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford, James Trafford, Dean Henderson

Defenders: Reece James, Marc Guehi, John Stones, Dan Burn, Ezri Konsa, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Tino Livramento, Djed Spence

Midfielders: Elliot Anderson, Morgan Gibbs-White, Jordan Henderson, Adam Wharton, Morgan Rogers, Declan Rice

Forwards: Harry Kane, Eberechi Eze, Jarrod Bowen, Anthony Gordon, Noni Madueke, Marcus Rashford, Ollie Watkins

Manchester City have received an enquiry from Tottenham Hotspur regarding a potential move for Netherlands defender Nathan Ake, 30. (Givemesport), external

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

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician

Based on the average Uefa coefficient of their opponents, PSV Eindhoven have been handed the toughest draw in the league phase. Not only do they face the champions of England, Germany and Italy – Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Napoli – but they will also play two of the top three seeds from Pot 2 in Bayer Leverkusen and Atletico Madrid.

Manchester City and Liverpool have also been given a fairly tough gauntlet of games, with both sides drawn against 15-time winners Real Madrid. Pep Guardiola's side will also play Bayer Leverkusen and Napoli as well as two of the top seeds from Pot 4 in Galatasaray and Monaco. Arne Slot's side will play last year's finalists Inter and Atletico Madrid.

Atalanta will likely be the happiest club following the draw after being given the most favourable fixtures. While they do have to face champions Paris St-Germain and Club World Cup champions Chelsea, they were also drawn against the two lowest seeds in Pot 2 – Eintracht Frankfurt and Club Brugge – as well as two of the three lowest seeds in Pot 3 in Slavia Prague and Marseille.

Both north London clubs should also be fairly happy with the draw. While they do have to play Bayern Munich, Inter and Atletico Madrid, Arsenal were otherwise drawn against low-seeded teams in Pots 2, 3 and 4, including Celtic's Kazakh conquerors Kairat Almaty. Tottenham also received favourable draws in terms of opponents from Pots 2 and 3, avoiding the likes of Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid and Napoli.

Shamoon Hafez
Manchester City reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester City suffered a disappointing Champions League campaign last season when they were knocked out in the play-off round by Real Madrid.

And those two sides just cannot keep away from each other in this competition.

For the fifth consecutive campaign, City will travel to the Bernabeu to face the European giants, as well as hosting Borussia Dortmund from pot one.

And it won't be a straightforward passage to finish in the top eight of the group phase and go straight through to the last-16.

City have home games against Erik ten Hag's Bayer Leverkusen, Serie A champions Napoli, which will see Kevin de Bruyne return to the Etihad, and last season's Turkish league winners Galatasaray.

On the road, Pep Guardiola's men head to Villarreal, Bodo/Glimt and Monaco, who have brought in the likes of Paul Pogba, Eric Dier and Ansu Fati during the summer.

The new format has thrown up another set of intriguing ties for City and they will have their work cut out in order to progress.

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester City's Champions League draw is complete and Pep Guardiola's side now know which eight clubs they will meet in the 36-team league format, which was used for the first time last season.

The Champions League fixture list with match dates and kick-off times will be published no later than Saturday, 30 August.

City will face:

Borussia Dortmund (h)

Real Madrid (a)

Bayer Leverkusen (h)

Villarreal (a)

Napoli (h)

Bodo/Glimt (a)

Galatasaray (h)

Monaco (a)

Champions League group phase dates:

Matchday 1: 16–18 September 2025

Matchday 2: 30 September–1 October 2025

Matchday 3: 21-22 October 2025

Matchday 4: 4-5 November 2025

Matchday 5: 2-26 November 2025

Matchday 6: 9-10 December 2025

Matchday 7: 20-21 January 2026

Matchday 8: 28 January 2026

Champions League knockout stage dates:

Knockout phase play-offs: 17-18 and 24-25 February 2026

Round of 16: 10-11 and 17-18 March 2026

Quarter-finals: 7-8 and 14-15 April 2026

Semi-finals: 28-29 April and 5-6 May 2026

Final: 30 May 2026, Budapest

See how the rest of the draw played out

Image source, Getty Images

There are six Premier League teams in this season's Champions League.

Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Newcastle United and Tottenham are about to find out who they will face in the league phase of the 2025-26 competition.

Follow it all unfold here

Shamoon Hafez
Manchester City reporter

Image source, Getty Images

It may be a busy time of outgoings at Manchester City before Monday's transfer deadline, with boss Pep Guardiola openly stating he wants to work with a smaller group of players.

Defender Manuel Akanji is of interest to Galatasaray, Crystal Palace and others, with talks taking place around selling the Swiss international - City are understood to want £15m for the 30-year-old.

Goalkeeper Ederson is also wanted by the Turkish champions but as it stands, there has been no change to the situation.

Sources close to Stefan Ortega have told BBC Sport they are looking at solutions for the German goalkeeper, but an exit is not yet close.

Ilkay Gundogan is another that could depart in the next few days after being left out of the defeat by Tottenham last Saturday and the club would explore sanctioning a sale.

However, one player who will remain at Etihad Stadium beyond the transfer window is winger Savinho.

Tottenham had reached out for transfer talks around the Brazilian, but City have maintained throughout that he is not for sale.

Sources have told BBC Sport the hierarchy at City have now informed counterparts at Spurs that they will not entertain any offers in this window, which is another blow to Thomas Frank's plans after missing out on Eberechi Eze to rivals Arsenal.

Paris St-Germain goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma has not given up hope of a move before the deadline with Manchester City the most viable option for the 26-year-old Italian - if Brazil goalkeeper Ederson leaves the Premier League club. (Sky Sports), external

There are no talks ongoing between Saudi Arabia's Al-Nassr and Manchester City for Ederson, but Galatasaray remain keen on the 32-year-old keeper. (Fabrizio Romano), external

Meanwhile, Manchester City informed Tottenham on Wednesday they have no intention to let 21-year-old Brazil winger Savinho leave the Etihad Stadium this summer, even for a fee above £60m. (Fabrizio Romano), external

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

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Image source, Getty Images

The draw has been made for the Carabao Cup third round, with 15 Premier League clubs having made it through or entering at this stage.

There are two all-Premier League ties, while holders Newcastle host League One Bradford City.

Ties will take place across two weeks, beginning on 15 and 22 September.

All the fixtures featuring top-flight sides are shown below in the order they were drawn:

• Port Vale v Arsenal

• Swansea City v Nottingham Forest

• Lincoln City v Chelsea

• Tottenham Hotspur v Doncaster Rovers

• Brentford v Aston Villa

• Huddersfield Town v Manchester City

• Liverpool v Southampton

• Newcastle United v Bradford City

• Wolves v Everton

• Crystal Palace v Millwall

• Burnley v Cardiff City

• Barnsley v Brighton

• Fulham v Cambridge United

See the full draw

The draw for the league phase of the 2025-26 Champions League will take place on Thursday in Monaco.

It will start at 17:00 BST and will follow the same procedure as the 2024-25 campaign - the first season where the 36-team league phase format took place.

The draw is made up of 27 teams that qualified via league positions, the winners of last season's Champions League and Europa League, and the seven teams that progressed out of qualifying.

This season, there are six English sides involved - Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea and Newcastle courtesy of finishing in the Premier League top five, and Tottenham after winning the Europa League.

The teams are split into four pots based on their individual Uefa club coefficient ranking.

Starting with pot one, each team will be drawn out individually. They will then be selected eight opponents via Uefa's automated software.

A team will play eight games in total, including two teams from each pot - one home and one away.

No group-stage fixtures can be played against teams from the same country, nor more than two against teams from the another country.

This procedure will continue until the fixtures for all 36 teams have been decided.

The Champions League fixture list with match dates and kick-off times will be published no later than Saturday, 30 August.

This article is the latest from BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team.

Pat Nevin
Former footballer and presenter

Image source, Getty Images

I was sitting in the BBC TV studios in Salford, near Manchester, on Wednesday night, commenting on the Champions League qualifiers.

At one point a Celtic player manipulated an attacking situation and for a brief moment, a defence splitting through-ball was on. But instead of playing his team mate in for a one-on-one with the keeper, he didn't see the fleeting gap and the chance was gone.

I thought, this is the difference between the top creatives and those at a level just below. Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva, Mo Salah and their like always see that pass and 95% of the time, they deliver it perfectly.

It happened again on Saturday afternoon but this time I was more surprised. Erling Haaland made one of his trademark runs finally losing his marker, and that through ball was on. He makes dozens of these runs every match in the hope that he gets free once or twice. His problem was that Kevin de Bruyne has departed and it wasn't Phil Foden on the ball. The pass wasn't played and the chance was gone in a heartbeat.

Haaland was fuming and I am sure Pep was disappointed. The new generation he has brought in such as Omar Marmoush, Rayan Cherki and Nico Gonzalez are fine players but are they going to reach the world class levels of their predecessors?

If they do not see those types of passes as a matter of course, they could fall short of the admittedly stellar levels that are demanded at City.

Until now I thought it was a matter of when City get back to the very top. Actually, it is still more of an if...

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Freddie Pye
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

It is a common feeling in football that too often, you do not truly appreciate what you have until it has gone. For Manchester City, there is no doubt in many minds that such an example might be the integral component that is Ederson.

Some supporters have been quick to dismiss of the Brazilian goalkeeper - who has been Pep Guardiola's number one choice between the sticks since 2017 - when rumours first emerged of Saudi Arabian interest in 2024, and Galatasaray interest earlier this summer.

While Ederson's shot-stopping has been called in question increasingly over the last two seasons, Guardiola has continued to stand by the 32-year-old. Although, with the lure of a fresh challenge and opportunity with the Turkish champions, a change may be on the cards between the posts.

And with just a week remaining in the summer transfer window, and talks believed to be advancing between Galatasaray and Manchester City for Ederson, the opening two contests in the Premier League have offered a first glimpse into what life without the Brazil international may look like.

After a hugely encouraging start on the road at Wolves on matchday one, James Trafford retained his place against Tottenham, but his fortunes were far less favourable as the 22-year-old conceded twice and saw his performance littered with individual errors, lapses of concentration, and some less-than-convincing shot-stopping.

Brennan Johnson's opener brushed the hand of Trafford before finding the back of the net, while it was the Manchester City Academy graduate's poor short-pass into Nico Gonzalez that saw Tottenham dispossess Guardiola's side inside their own penalty area to score a second before half-time.

There remains no doubt that Trafford is a goalkeeper with remarkable promise and talent, and he certainly has a future at the Etihad Stadium - but perhaps in time, and with a bit of patience needed. That time to settle would ease any pressure of holding down the number one position under Guardiola immediately.

And while there also remains talk of interest in Paris St-Germain's Gianluigi Donnarumma, the weekend's showing from Manchester City should be a firm reminder to supporters that life without Ederson could be far more complex and difficult to transition through than first imagined.

Find more from Freddie Pye at City Xtra, external

Shamoon Hafez
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester City have four senior goalkeepers on their books, with summer signing James Trafford starting the two Premier League games so far.

The 22-year-old was unconvincing in Saturday's 2-0 home defeat by Tottenham, with Ederson watching from the substitutes' bench.

Like Manuel Akanji, the Brazil international has been of heavy interest to Galatasaray, but no deal has yet been agreed between the two clubs.

Ederson would need to leave if City were to sign Gianluigi Donnarumma from Paris St-Germain, but club sources have denied personal terms have been agreed with the Italy number one.

There is an expectation that Stefan Ortega will leave the club by Monday's deadline, but is it understood the German is not close to an exit at this stage.

Meanwhile, could midfielder Ilkay Gundogan - who was left out of the Spurs game for tactical reasons - be another who departs? City are likely to explore any offers that may come in for the 34-year-old.

Manager Pep Guardiola has said Savinho is out injured at the moment, and it is not known whether Spurs and City officials had discussions over the winger on Saturday, having held talks earlier in the transfer window.

What is known is that City do not want to sell the Brazilian, and it would need a significant offer to consider doing so.

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Manchester City defender Nathan Ake reflected on his side's 2-0 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, attributing the result to Spurs' impressive performance more than anything else.

Speaking to BBC Radio Manchester, the Dutchman also praised the resilience of team-mate James Trafford, expressing full confidence that the young goalkeeper will recover quickly from his mistake against Thomas Frank's side.

"Tough to take, we wanted to continue the run," said Ake. "I thought Tottenham made it very difficult - [they were] very organised and pressed us very high and made us uncomfortable.

"When you concede those goals, it becomes difficult, and it shows that we still have work to do.

"His [James Trafford's] mentality is very good and very mature for his age. I am sure he will take this and continue.

"The manager always says we have to play out and we have to try, and these kind of things happen. We just have to bounce back."

Listen to more from Ake on BBC Sounds

Crystal Palace have tabled a £15m offer for Manchester City defender Manuel Akanji. (Sun), external

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

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Image source, Getty Images

Former Premier League midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker says he feels sorry for Manchester City's goalkeeper James Trafford after a difficult home debut in which he was at fault for Tottenham's second goal.

But if he is to keep the number one spot "he has to adapt" quickly or manager Pep Guardiola may look elsewhere.

"I feel sorry for the young lad," Reo-Coker said on BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast. "When you go to City, you become a player that is indebted to Pep Guardiola's system.

"It is not about you or your freedom and creativity, it is about the system - so if it doesn't work like how Guardiola wants then you won't play.

"It is a tough job for such a young goalkeeper to go into that team. Even when I watched him at Burnley, where he was sensational, he wasn't playing out from the back all the time.

"Their approach was very direct and they defended first. His job was shot-stopping and he was fantastic at that, but at City he needs a whole different skill set.

"You can see he is still a bit nervous, but he's going to have to mature quickly because this is what comes with playing for City.

"He has to adapt and try to get himself to be better because there's no other way."

Listen to the Football Daily podcast on BBC Sounds

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League between Manchester City and Tottenham.

Here are some of your comments:

Man City fans

Gareth: City started well faced with a resolute Spurs defence but the progress we saw last week against Wolves evaporated. Both goals were down to errors, these things happen, but rather than fight back, City were trying the stuff that didn't work last season. Trafford made that mistake but Ederson has made similar ones. Hopefully this will shock the players enough to get back into Pep's new strategies.

Pat: A poor and concerning performance - worst I can remember under Pep. We started well and looked much the better team but after we conceded (on a break, big surprise there) we looked bereft of ideas. Our back four were sluggish and looked uncomfortable on the ball, and sadly the keeper made a terrible error. The midfield was so disjointed. Spurs' press was excellent and combined with their aggression off the ball, they were too much for City.

Paul: City were very lightweight - getting bullied off the ball and unable to deal with Spurs' pressing game. Very short on ideas in the last third. Fair play to Spurs , they did a number on us!

Spurs fans

Paul: An excellent result and a very disciplined performance. The midfield and defence were superb and Richarlison was his usual belligerent self. We just looked so much more organised and solid than last season. If we could just get a little more creativity in the side I think it could be a decent campaign. It's amazing how having both centre-backs fit and playing regularly together makes us look more like a team. Let's hope this good start continues. COYS.

Daniel: Our midfield dominated and is looking very strong - we haven't had that in a while. Palhinha is a great addition and looks very secure next to Bentancur. Sarr doesn't seem to stop running either! Who said we needed Eze?

Joe: We look so much better mentally than last season. The players looked like they would run through brick walls for each other.

Paris St-Germain goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma has agreed personal terms with Manchester City, with the two clubs in talks over a deal which will see the 26-year-old Italian join Pep Guardiola's side. (Fabrizio Romano), external

City's Savinho remains top of Tottenham's wanted list, with boss Thomas Frank keen to sign the winger after missing out on Eberechi Eze. (Independent), external

Spurs have indicated they are willing to pay £60.7m for Savinho, who is keen to make the move to north London. (Talksport), external

Meanwhile, Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool have interest in signing Real Madrid and Brazil winger Rodrygo, but the Spanish club are yet to receive a bid for the 24-year-old. (Marca - in Spanish), external

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

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Pundits Alan Shearer and Micah Richards join host Kelly Cates to bring you the action and talking points from Friday and Sautrday's Premier League fixtures.

Watch on BBC iPlayer here

And listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Brentford 1-0 Aston Villa

• Burnley 2-0 Sunderland

• Arsenal 5-0 Leeds