Man City did a lot of encouraging business during the summer, but they failed to address their biggest area of weakness: right-back. A deal was sought for Newcastle and England star Tino Livramento, but in the end, neither he nor anyone else made the move. And this has left Pep Guardiola with a lack of options, with Matheus Nunes and Rico Lewis expected to fight it out to be Man City's starter
To begin, England defender John Stones was recently sent home from the Three Lions' September camp after complaining of a minor muscle injury. It remains to be seen just how bad that problem is for the City and whether he will feature against Manchester United this weekend. "He came with minor issues and didn't progress as we thought and hoped he would, so he left camp this morning," said Thomas Tuchel when asked about Stones' omission from England's two internationals against Andorra and Serbia.
Having sealed their place in the Champions League on the final day of last season, Manchester City will aim to reach the knockout stage after a season away following their play-off defeat to Real Madrid following the 2024/25 league phase. City finished third in the Premier League during a season of struggle by their stratospheric standards and have landed another date with Madrid in the league phase this time in Europe, as well as a meeting with menacing striker Erling Haaland's former club, Borussia Dortmund.
He has been a top selection. I would say that he is quite close to what I feel I am. He is so calm but he is also very decisive. In the winter transfer window he couldn't be here, he was at Sporting but I've seen it in the last few months, the criteria he has and the way he sees football. The decisions on players -- I think we are in top hands.
What does the future hold for Nico O'Reilly at Manchester City? See below as Romano recently reported on O'Reilly looking set to sign a new deal with City, despite strong interest from Bayer Leverkusen ?? EXCLUSIVE: Manchester City and Nico O'Reilly have agreed on new deal for 20 year old talent. Bayer Leverkusen had two bids rejected, #MCFC turned down approaches also from PL and decided to offer him a new contract. Verbal agreement done and new shirt squad number.
Few clubs embody ambition quite like Manchester City. They have won 18 trophies in nine years under Pep Guardiola but, for just the second time in his tenure, they finished last season without a trophy. Given that City had won the previous four Premier League titles, it was easy to downplay it as a mere stumble, a season disrupted by injuries and a cloud of legal issues.
Image source, Getty Images Bromley have signed defender Lakyle Samuel on loan from Manchester City for the rest of the 2025-26 campaign. The 19-year-old has been part of the Premier League club's academy since the age of eight and he has played eight matches for their under-21 side in the EFL Trophy over recent seasons. Samuel was also part of the side that won the under-18s Premier League title in 2023.
For both Spurs' opening goal and Brighton's second, the ball is moved to a defender out wide, with City's attacker unable to press tightly. The wide player is able to turn and face forward before playing a long, direct pass down the channel. One of their team-mates drops deeper, dragging City's full-back with them - Nathan Ake against Spurs and Rico Lewis against Brighton. That means City end up with three players in their backline,