Manchester City v AEK Athens: Preview, predicted line-ups & Champions League tips

Manchester City have a point to prove at the Etihad on Tuesday night. Last week they lost 4-2 at home to Paris Saint Germain in their second league-phase game.

That result left them with one win and one defeat from two Champions League matches. Enzo Maresca's side now face an AEK Athens team that lost 3-1 at Shakhtar Donetsk on the same night.

This is matchday three of the league stage. A home win is the expected outcome, and anything less would add to the pressure.

City opened their campaign with a 2-0 win away at FC Porto on 8 September. They then conceded four at home to PSG, two of those goals inside the first 15 minutes. E.

AEK have won two and drawn one of their last four games in all competitions. Before the Shakhtar defeat they beat LASK Linz 1-0 at home on 8 September and Levski Sofia 4-0 on 26 August. They have kept three clean sheets in those four matches and average 0.75 goals conceded. Away from home they have scored one goal in two games.

There is no suggestion that City will make wholesale changes. Defeat to PSG and the quality of the occasion make a strong side likely, though Maresca has plenty of attacking options to rotate if he chooses.

AEK will probably set up in a compact 4-4-2 and try to hit City on the break. Their goals have come early, with five of their six this season arriving inside the first 30 minutes, so City cannot afford another slow start.

Manchester City: Donnarumma; Lewis, Dias, Guéhi, Aït-Nouri; Kovačić, Cherki

AEK Athens: Strakosha; Rota, Relvas, Vida, Lykogiannis; Zubkov, Marin, Kairinen, Mantalos; Jović, Koita

The game kicks off at 20:00 BST on Tuesday 20 October at the Etihad Stadium. It is shown on TNT Sports where selected. This is a single league-stage fixture rather than a two-legged tie. There is no extra time or penalty shootout in this phase, so a draw stands.