Five things to be aware of when Slovan Bratislava plays Manchester City

Manchester City continue their European campaign with a midweek trip to face Slovan Bratislava, the Slovenian champions, in their second UEFA Champions League Phase One match.

After a 0-0 draw at home to Inter in their first match, City will be hoping for all three points as they look to end their recent run of draws and build up a winning streak.

Here are five things to look out for as City face off against Bratislava:

Guardiola unleashing his full array of attacking options

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With a fairly conservative lineup by his standards at the weekend against Newcastle United, one would expect Pep Guardiola to use his full arsenal of attacking options to its greatest extent against Slovan Bratislava.

Jeremy Doku, Savinho and Phil Foden all started on the bench against the Magpies, so one would expect them all to come in and start tomorrow night.

The inclusion of these three will increase City’s direct goal threat and will mean more chances are created for Erling Haaland, which will hopefully mean he isn’t isolated like he was at times against Newcastle and will subsequently heavily improve City’s chances of winning.

Kevin de Bruyne is injured until after the international break, so a lot will be expected of Foden, Doku, Savinho and Jack Grealish if he plays to provide a direct supply line to Haaland both tomorrow and against Fulham on Saturday.

Chance for Stones to claim a starting spot

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In his pre match press conference with Guardiola, Stones emphasised the importance of staying fit for all of City’s players this season now Rodri is out for the full campaign – but staying fit consistently is something the 30 year old has frequently struggled with in a City shirt.

Last season was difficult for Stones, as he continued picking up semi-serious injuries that’d sideline him for a few weeks meaning it was difficult for him to gather any real momentum whilst the likes of Manuel Akanji, Nathan Ake and Ruben Dias were thriving in his absence.

Given that he didn’t start against Newcastle at the weekend, I’d expect him to come into the side against Bratislava and attempt to stake a claim for a regular starting place.

Stones provides something that no other centre back in the world brings which is the ability to step into midfield in possession and interchange possession with City’s midfielders, and with Rico Lewis perhaps still not trusted in the very biggest games and question marks about Kyle Walker’s form, this could be Stones’ chance to thrive.

How City cope with a hostile atmosphere

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They might not have the biggest stadium in Europe with a capacity of just 22,500, but the Tehelne Pole will still be a difficult place for City to come.

Away games in Europe are always tricky due to the atmosphere their home crowd provides; continuous chanting, choreographed jumping and singing and loud drums and flares are common features of most non-British clubs in Europe, particularly in eastern areas such as Slovakia.

From a more unsavoury point of view, opposition players are often targeted with missiles from the fans, including empty plastic bottles and cups, coins and sometimes even flares.

This won’t be anything City won’t be used to (memories of Grealish getting pelted by balled up bits of paper by young Leeds United fans springs to mind) but the atmosphere may be something that gives a slight edge to the home side.

A tighter game than people may expect?

Former Blue (of three games!) Vladamir Weiss on the ball Photo by Rob Casey/SNS Group via Getty Images

Many will look at this game on paper and see Bratislava’s 5-1 loss to Celtic as evidence that City will wipe the floor with them, but that may not be the case.

For starters, Bratislava had a tough atmosphere of their own to cope with, as Celtic Park on a big European night can be intimidating for any side.

Home advantage may force City to play a little more cautiously than if it took place at the Etihad Stadium, and despite saying he will field “the strongest side available to him” it wouldn’t be at all surprising if Guardiola picks the likes of Matheus Nunes and James McAtee to start, which may weaken City slightly.

This isn’t to say don’t expect City to still win with considerable ease (I think they will) but if you’re expecting seven, eight or nine goals, you’ll probably end up disappointed.

Strength in depth utilised

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If City are ahead comfortably on 60 minutes, we’re likely to be reminded of just how good some of our bench options are.

The likes of Haaland, Dias and Josko Gvardiol will probably be substituted off to preserve them for future matches and keep their workload down, something that is extra essential this season with the ever increasing schedule.

This will pose excellent opportunity for Nunes and McAtee in particular to fight for more minutes, but will also benefit those who may be feeling slightly overwhelmed with their workload already to sit half an hour or so out.

Guardiola’s unlikely to make such changes if the result is in any sort of doubt, but he won’t hesitate to give Haaland in particular a rest if he feels that the result is safe enough to take his talisman off.