Fc Porto will open its UEFA Champions League campaign against Manchester City on Tuesday, September 8, at Estádio do Dragão. The match is set for 16h Brasília time and will be shown on Space and HBO Max, with ge following the game in real time.
That is why the fixture is drawing attention now: it brings together a Porto side that has won the Supertaça de Portugal and all five of its Campeonato Português matches, and a Manchester City team that has started the Campeonato Inglês with three straight wins despite losing the Supercopa da Inglaterra to Arsenal. At the center of City’s new moment is Enzo Maresca, who has replaced Pep Guardiola after 11 seasons and is already talking about how his newcomers will be used in Europe.
Maresca said Ayyoub, McAiddo and Iliman Ndiaye will begin getting minutes in the Champions League. He said the three have never played in the competition, but that they need to start somewhere, a line that fits a squad trying to balance continuity with change. City also counts on Enzo Fernández as its main transfer reinforcement, adding another layer to a group that still looks dangerous even with a new coach on the touchline.
Porto, meanwhile, is expected to lean on Francesco Farioli’s attacking choices, with William Gomes, Pepê and André Silva the names most likely to drive the front line. The probable lineup also includes Diogo Costa, Alberto Costa, Nehuén Perez, Kiwior, Francisco Moura, Fofana, Rosario and Gabri Veiga, a list that underlines how much of the team’s early-season form has been built on stability. The club’s perfect league start has already been the subject of close attention, and this opener gives it a much bigger stage.
Manchester City’s lineup is projected to feature Donnarumma, Gvardiol, Guehi, Rúben Dias, Khusanov, Bouaddi, Anderson, Ndiaye, Enzo Fernandez, McAidoo and Haaland. That mix shows Maresca’s effort to give fresh pieces Champions League minutes without giving up the core threat that has made City a heavyweight in the competition for years.
What happens next is simple: Porto and Manchester City meet on Tuesday at Dragão, and the first answer to all the talk about form, newcomers and a new coach will come on the pitch. For both clubs, the opener is less about reputation than about how quickly their early-season rhythm can survive the one tournament that rarely forgives a slow start.
