Man City face Porto before Manchester derby in Champions League

Manchester City have been handed one of their toughest Champions League games in the week of the Manchester derby, but will get more recovery time than Manchester United. The Blues will travel to Porto on the Tuesday before their visit to Old Trafford on the Sunday, while United play on the Thursday.

Positive start in the Premier League

Enzo Maresca's side have made a positive start in the Premier League, coming from behind to beat Bournemouth at home and then thrashing Crystal Palace on Friday night. With Coventry at the Etihad next Saturday, there is a good chance City head to Old Trafford on September 13 with a 100 per cent record to defend in the league.

That week, however, marks the start of a more congested fixture list as the Champions League begins, followed by the Carabao Cup a week later. There is only one European tie before the three-week international break at the end of September, with the Blues travelling to Porto before United host Sabah a few days later.

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Hard draw and familiar faces

City have been given statistically one of the hardest draws out of the 36 teams involved in the first phase of the Champions League, with home games against PSG, Sporting, Napoli and AEK Athens and trips to Barcelona, Porto, Leipzig and Lens.

The trip to Camp Nou will bring the Blues face to face with Rodri again following his summer move, while Josko Gvardiol (Leipzig) and Abdukodir Khusanov (Lens) will travel back to their former clubs.

Fixture schedule

The first six games will be played before Christmas before the final two are completed in January, with a top-eight spot guaranteeing a place in the last-16 and an extra 16 places offering a play-off to make it. City finished in the top-eight last year but lost to Real Madrid in the first knockout stage.

Times and dates of Man City's Champions League fixtures: