Enzo Maresca's Champions League Strategy with Manchester City

Enzo Maresca is not expected to tiptoe into his first Champions League trip with Manchester City. He looks ready to shake the team up.

The City head coach is being urged to lean on his squad depth for Tuesday’s league-phase clash with Porto at the Estadio do Dragao, and that could mean a step back for one of his biggest names: Enzo Fernandez.

Signed for £125m and earmarked as a central figure, Fernandez was actually set to start on the bench against Coventry City in the Premier League on Saturday. Then everything changed in the warm-up. Nico O'Reilly suffered a back problem, Maresca ripped up the original plan, and Fernandez was thrown into the starting XI for his full debut earlier than scheduled.

He lasted 76 minutes, operating alongside Elliot Anderson and getting valuable rhythm into his legs. That early exposure might now work against him. With only three days between fixtures and a Manchester derby looming on the horizon, Maresca has every reason to rotate, protect key assets, and test the depth City have assembled.

One player perfectly placed to benefit is Ayyoub Bouaddi. The young midfielder already owns Champions League minutes from his time at Lille and looks an obvious candidate to come in if Maresca wants fresh energy and experience in the middle of the park. His inclusion could be one of up to four changes from the side that beat Coventry.

There was another debut storyline at the weekend. Iliman Ndiaye’s first appearance for City ended in the 87th minute, the Senegalese forward forced off with cramp. The issue is not expected to keep him out of the trip to Portugal, but his starting spot is far from guaranteed. A fully-fit Phil Foden is pushing hard to reclaim his place and could be restored to the XI in Ndiaye’s role behind Erling Haaland.

Jeremy Doku will not be part of the equation. The winger remains sidelined with a calf problem, trimming Maresca’s options out wide but not his overall attacking firepower.

At full-back, there is scope for more rotation. Abdukodir Khusanov and Josko Gvardiol were asked to patrol the flanks against Coventry, but Maresca has alternatives ready. Matheus Nunes and Rayan Ait-Nouri are both in line to step in, offering fresher legs and a slightly different profile against Porto’s wide threats, including the experienced William Gomes and the evergreen Pepe.

All of that points towards a City XI that looks familiar through the spine but refreshed around the edges. A likely configuration for Maresca in Porto could be:

Donnarumma; Nunes, Guehi, Dias, Ait-Nouri; Anderson, Bouaddi; Semenyo, Cherki, Foden; Haaland.

It is a side that mixes youth, Champions League know-how, and the ruthless presence of Haaland up front. Maresca’s first big European selection call at City will say plenty about how he plans to juggle a season that is already demanding answers.