Italian head coach, Enzo Maresca, has said, his side, Manchester City, will do everything possible to emerge winner when they collide with AEK Athens in the Champions League match on Tuesday night in England.
At his pre-match presser, the former Chelsea FC manager said, the Cityzens will “try to win the game with our best players”.
On Tuesday 20 October, 2026, Manchester City will welcome AEK Athens for the League Phase match of the Uefa Champions League 2026/27 at Etihad Stadium at 20:00 (WAT).
Both sides will be heading into the showdown with high morale following their victories in the weekend. The Blues clinched a narrow 3-2 win over Ipswich Town in the English Premier League match on Saturday at Etihad Stadium, while, AEK Athens defeated OFI Crete in the Greek Super League match on Saturday 3-0.
According to Manchester City X account, giving his update on injuries following the contest against the Tractor Boys in Manchester, Maresca said, winger Antoine Semenyo will be missing in action for the Blues for “eight weeks”.
He said, his side has “some doubts” about who will feature against the Greek top flight opponents including, striker, Erling Haaland. The Italian manager is hopeful the Norwegian will be available.
At his pre-match press conference, Maresca said:
On Antoine Semenyo’s injury…
“In the first moment we expected a worse injury. After yesterday’s scan we feel much better because it’s not so big like we expected.
“It will be eight weeks. Now the most important thing is recovery. When he is back in December it will be like a new player. Collateral. It’s not muscle.”
On injuries following the game against Ipswich Town…
“He [Erling] can be available. We’ll see. We have a session now and we have some doubts. He was quite good yesterday. Better.
“The rest are more or less okay. The only one that will be out for probably eight weeks is Antoine [Semenyo].”
On the game against AEK Athens…
“It’s a huge game tomorrow. It’s a Champions League game.
“We lost the last one so we need to win games. We are going to try to win the game with our best players in this moment.”
The result from the game against Ipswich Town made Maresca “very happy”. He said, Manchester City “completely controlled” the game.
In his post-Ipswich reaction, Maresca said: “I am very happy because it is a matter of winning games in this business. We were able to win seven in a row.
“And again what made me very happy was day by day with the players, the way we are working and the way I can see them improving and doing things.
“I think today we completely controlled the game, created chances, scored goals and see good off the ball. We are doing well and for me this is theost important thing.”
