Erling Haaland has been omitted from Manchester City’s starting line-up for their Champions League match against AEK Athens as he recovers from an injury sustained during the weekend. The injury occurred in a clash with Jack Clarke during Saturday’s victory over Ipswich, where Haaland scored two goals before sustaining the injury in injury time.

Ahead of the trip to Athens, Maresca indicated that Haaland would undergo a late fitness test to assess his availability. City aims to bounce back in Europe after a disappointing 4-2 loss to Paris Saint-Germain the previous week. Maresca noted, "He can be available, we will see, we have a session now. We have some doubts after Sunday’s game. He was quite good yesterday, better. So we will see today."

Ultimately, Haaland was not fit to start, leading to 17-year-old Floyd Samba taking the lead role in his absence. Samba, son of former Blackburn Rovers defender Christopher Samba, notably scored twice on his debut during last month’s 5-0 Carabao Cup win against Norwich.

Phil Foden was also considered for the position after breaking a 35-game goal drought against Ipswich but will operate from the left flank instead. Rayan Cherki starts behind Samba, with summer signing Allan on the right.

The team sees Elliot Anderson and Enzo Fernandez return after being rested, while only Ruben Dias retains his spot in defense from the last match. Rico Lewis, Abdukodir Khusanov, and Josko Gvardiol join the lineup, with Gianluigi Donnarumma remaining the starting goalkeeper.