Matheus Nunes starts as Pep Guardiola 'undroppable' claim tested - Man City fans' XI vs Crvena Zvezda

Manchester City will play their first Champions League game as defending champions this evening when they host Red Star Belgrade.

Pep Guardiola's side finally got their hands on the iconic trophy in June after beating Inter Milan 1-0. That glorious night in Istanbul capped off a historic campaign in which they won the treble.

Despite this evening's game looking fairly comfortable on paper, Guardiola knows it will be anything but. And City fans seem to agree, picking a full-strength side despite the short turnaround from Saturday's win at West Ham.

ALSO READ: City confirm new club captain for the season after player vote

ALSO READ: City bosses set ominous Champions League target after Istanbul

One change from the weekend sees Matheus Nunes come in for a first start at City. The Portuguese midfielder arrived in a £53million deal from Wolves on deadline day.

He was handed a debut with 23 minutes off the bench at the London Stadium on Saturday and has been backed by fans to start this evening. Guardiola is relatively short of options in midfield due to a number of injuries, and the boss has been tipped to stick with the consistency of Rodri and Bernardo Silva to complete the trio.

Nunes' introduction will see Julian Alvarez rested after starting every available game so far. The Argentinian has been in outstanding form but must see his minutes managed after Guardiola claimed he was almost undroppable on Saturday, with Phil Foden and Jeremy Doku starting either side of Erling Haaland.

Doku has enjoyed an excellent start to life at City since arriving from Rennes in the summer, and the Belgian winger netted his first goal with a wonderful effort on Saturday. Haaland got his goal in the end but has been uncharacteristically