Man City's transfer strategy could be exposed in Champions League fixture vs Sevilla

With Kyle Walker not recovering from his knock at Aston Villa, Manchester City will be forced into a change or two in their Champions League opener at Sevilla on Tuesday. The obvious solution would be to move Joao Cancelo back to the right and bring in new left-back Sergio Gomez for a first start. With John Stones not travelling, Manuel Akanji could make his debut in the centre.

After letting Aleks Zinchenko go, City essentially have made Joao Cancelo a full-time left-back, and Guardiola said he will trust youngsters Rico Lewis and Josh Wilson-Esbrand if needed, too. How City react to Walker's injury and Stones' absence will be the first real examination of how effective their full-back options are after a summer rebuild in that department.

Another summer transfer decision was to sign Erling Haaland, who's taken to the Premier League in record-breaking fashion. In his opening press conference, Haaland declared an ambition to help City in Europe, and for himself to experience a proper run in the competition that he is yet to get.

ALSO READ: How Man City should line up vs Sevilla in the Champions League

So starting Haaland would be an obvious choice if he was brought in to make them more effective in the Champions League, although he's started all six Premier League games so far and there are tougher tests coming up. It may be a good time to rest Haaland, even if this would be one of the games he earmarked from the start to truly make his mark as a City player.

It was a welcome sight to see Kalvin Phillips back in training on Monday, along with Jack Grealish and Nathan Ake. The trio returning would give City a boost and offer some much-needed back-up in key positions.

Guardiola may be reluctant at this stage to rotate his