Maresca faces a difficult night in Porto
Both Porto and Manchester City have made perfect starts to their respective domestic campaigns, making this one an intriguing contest at the Estádio do Dragão.
Porto have won all five of their Primeira Liga matches, while Enzo Maresca’s City have also taken maximum points from their first three Premier League games, even if they were not all backed up by sublime performances.
This is, to an extent, a season shrouded with uncertainty for Maresca. No one, with the exception of the City board perhaps, knows quite what to expect. City have been both good and bad this season. They certainly have a lot of loopholes, and those can be exposed in European games.
Here in addition to Nico O’Reilly and Jeremy Doku, who will be absent having been left out of the travelling squad, Erling Haaland may also not feature in this game, Maresca suggesting he needed rest after playing every competitive minute for City so far this season and also representing Norway at the World Cup.
Haaland has nevertheless started the season in decent form, scoring in each of City’s three league victories. Maresca may be unable to resist giving him a start, which would certainly be a boost to City’s attack.
The boss getting involved 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/oBI0qkHiz8
— Manchester City (@ManCity) September 7, 2026
Porto, of course, will not be short of confidence. Francesco Farioli’s team have also won every competitive match this season and have conceded only once in their six games. The Portuguese champions have also built a strong European record at home, making the Dragão an awkward place for City to begin their campaign.
City have the stronger squad on paper and have dominated this fixture in recent years, winning three and drawing one of their previous four meetings with Porto. But this is a different Porto side under Farioli, and City may have to work for their opening three points.
Team News
City are without Doku and O’Reilly. O’Reilly suffered a back injury during the warm-up before the Coventry game while Doku is recovering from a calf problem. Haaland may ultimately be involved despite Maresca’s concerns. It is unlikely that he leaves the Norwegian on the bench in a difficult European away game.
Porto will be without Vasco Sousa, Oskar Pietuszewski, Gabriel Mec, Zaidu Sanusi and Samu Aghehowa through injury. Jan Bednarek is suspended after being sent off last season in the Europa League, while Victor Froholdt is also unavailable.
Predicted Lineups
Porto predicted lineup vs Manchester City (4-3-3): Diogo Costa; Alberto Costa, Perez, Kiwior, Moura; Fofana, Rosario, Veiga; Gomes, Pepe, Rodrigo Mora.
Manchester City predicted lineup vs Porto (4-2-3-1): Donnarumma; Nunes, Guehi, Dias, Ait-Nouri; Anderson, Fernandez; Semenyo, Cherki, Foden; Haaland.
Date: Tuesday, 8 September 2026
Kick-off Time: 8pm BST / 3pm ET /
Venue: Estádio do Dragão, Porto
Porto vs Manchester City Match Prediction
Porto 1-2 Manchester City
