GOAL! Man City 0 Sevilla 1 (Mir, 31)
Rafa Mir finds the back of the net! Best player on the pitch for Sevilla tonight.
Corner's sent in, he's at the far post, completely unmarked, and pushes his header perfectly over Ortega and into the far corner.
Why on earth was he not picked up by City as that ball cane in? Complacency perhaps?
26 mins: Man City 0 Sevilla 0
Gundogan with the closest City chance so far. He plays a little one-two with Foden to his right, inside the Sevilla box and is then gently laid off by the Stockport man. He opens his body up and goes for the near post, but Carmona's outstretched foot pushes it out for a corner.
The players emerge
It's drizzly in Manchester. Could be a bit slippery out there.
Man City: Ortega, Lewis, Dias, Laporte, Gomez, Palmer, Gundogan, Foden, Mahrez, Alvarez, Grealish.
Subs: Stones, Ake, Joao Cancelo, Rodri, De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Ederson, Carson, Wilson-Esbrand.
Sevilla: Bounou, Montiel, Carmona, Marcao, Rekik, Acuna, Gomez, Rakitic, Delaney, Isco, Mir.
Subs: Dmitrovic, Alex Telles, Dolberg, Gudelj, Suso, Jordan, Januzaj, Jesus Navas, Lamela, Salas, Flores, Alvarez.
Pre-match facts
- Manchester City have won all three of their Champions League matches against Sevilla, scoring nine goals and conceding just twice.
- Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has only lost two of his 13 games against Sevilla as a manager (W9 D2), with his teams averaging 2.5 goals per game against them (33 in total). His only home defeat against them came in January 2010, with his Barcelona side losing in the Copa del Rey against Manolo Jiménez’s Sevilla (1-2).
- Sevilla’s last win over an English side in the group stage of the Champions League was in November 2007 – a 3-1 victory over Arsenal, in which Jesús Navas started. Since then, Sevilla are winless in the last seven such games (D3 L4), with the last two both being 0-4 defeats – vs Chelsea and Man City.
- Manchester City have won 81% of their home games in the Champions League since Pep Guardiola took charge of the club (26/32). Among managers with at least 20 home games in charge of a team in the competition, Guardiola’s Man City have the highest home win percentage in the competition’s history.
- Sevilla are winless in their last six away games in the Champions League, with five of those ending in draws (L1). Indeed, their last win on the road in the competition was in December 2020, beating Rennes 3-1 away from home under Julen Lopetegui.
Sevilla manager Jorge Sampaoli on Man City's Champions League credentials
In the project of Guardiola I think City have made great achievements.
I think he would made a huge difference to any team in the world, but the Champions League is a very individual, special tournament.
They have not managed to win it yet, but, from the way they play, they may have deserved to have won it more than once.
I think they are better than any team in England and some teams in the Champions League, but football is a funny game. The best teams don't necessarily win trophies all the time.
But I really value what City have achieved, not just in one year, but in the whole period of Guardiola managing here. He has shown consistency that no team in the world has been able to reproduce at any point.
SEVEN changes for Manchester City
Rico Lewis makes his first Man City start as Pep Guardiola makes seven changes.
Lewis, 17, starts in a back four that also includes Sergio Gomez and Ruben Dias in front of back-up goalkeeper Stefan Ortega.
There is also a first start of the season for Cole Palmer as Phil Foden and Riyad Mahrez return in midfield.
Aymeric Laporte, Ilkay Gundogan, Jack Grealish and Julian Alvarez are the players retained from Saturday's 1-0 win at Leicester.
Good evening!
Hello and welcome to Telegraph Sport's live coverage of Manchester City vs Sevilla, an inconsequential game given that all the standings in Group G have been decided but a fixture in which City will run out some fringe players and Sevilla will try to steady the ship.
Pep Guardiola is likely to make several changes for the visit of the Spanish side, taking the opportunity to rest several key players before the final three games before the World Cup break: Fulham and Brentford in the Premier League, and Chelsea in the League Cup.
City pummeled Sevilla 4-0 in their group opener in September, one of a string of poor results for the Spanish side that culminated in the sacking of Julen Lopetegui as manager last month. The club are in the relegation zone having won only two league games all season.
Jorge Sampaoli was appointed as Lopetegui's successor, his second spell at the club having taken charge for the 2016–17 season when he steered the club to a fourth-placed finish.
His side will finish third in the group having convincingly beaten FC Copenhagen last week, meaning that they are heading to the Europa League regardless of the result tonight.
"It is basically a way of consolidating the plans we have been putting in place," said Sampaoli.
"It is almost impossible to get rid of bad habits in a short period. We have been working together for just three weeks.
"It is a long-term project. It is not going to change overnight, but tomorrow is part of that process. It is an opportunity to show we can compete against these teams."
Since City will top the group, they are seeded for the last-16, meaning they will be at home for the second leg. The draw takes place on 7 November, and the matches will take place in February and March.
Erling Haaland will miss tonight's fixture. He sat out the victory at Leicester on Saturday while suffering from a fever and a foot problem and will not be risked.
Full-back Kyle Walker and midfielder Kalvin Phillips remain on the sidelines but Guardiola has said the England pair could both be fit for the World Cup.