After suffering defeat to the back-to-back European champions Paris-Saint-German in midweek, Manchester City look to get back to winning ways as they welcome newly promoted Ipswich Town to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
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Last time out, the Sky Blues were brought rather abruptly back down to earth as City's record of eight consecutive wins across competitions was ended unceremoniously by Luis Enrique's remarkable and ruthless Paris Saint-Germain.
It was a less than desirable start for Manchester City, as with just 13 minutes on the clock, Fabian Ruiz fed Desire Doue, who arrowed an excellent strike from range into the bottom corner, beating Gianluigi Donnarumma at his near post.
Less than desirable, soon escalated to disastrous, as 99 seconds after taking the lead, Ousmane Dembele doubled the deficit for the visitors with the Ballon D'Or holder nodding a Doue cross into the back of the net, leaving the Blues stunned by a Parisian double salvo.
With just over half an hour played, Vitinha further compounded the Mancunian misery with the 26-year-old curling home superbly from the edge of the 18-yard box, thus presenting City with a seemingly insurmountable mountain to climb.
After a dejecting first 45, Maresca's men improved drastically in the opening exchanges of the second period, largely owing to the introduction of Moroccan starlet Ayyoub Bouaddi, who was pivotal in helping the Blues wrestle back a modicum of control in the tie.
The hosts appeared to have discovered a new lease of life following the tactical shifts made at the break, as City fashioned a multitude of presentable chances in the opening minutes of the second half, with the most notable falling to Enzo Fernandez, who glanced his header wide of the post.
Eventually, the Blues reaped the rewards of their sustained pressure, as in the 53rd minute, an brilliant ball from substitute Iliman Ndiaye enabled Erling Haaland to dispatch a precise header past Matvey Safanov and hand Manchester City a desperately needed lifeline.
That glimmer of blue and white hope, however, was extinguished just ten minutes later as Donnarumma made the initial save to deny Maghnes Akliouche but it was only enough to send the ball spinning painfully into the back of the City net.
Despite the lopsided scoreline, once again, the home side simply refused to accept defeat as with 15 minutes of the 90 to play, Haaland latched on to a Bouaddi pass and steered his effort beyond Safonov, reducing the arrears and making City's Norwegian talisman the fastest player in history to reach 60 UEFA Champions League goals.
Subsequently, in the final minute of normal time, referee Sven Jablonski pointed to the spot after Matheus Nunes brought down Portuguese compatriot Nuno Mendes inside the penalty area.
Former Manchester City man Ferran Torres was tasked with facing off against Donnarumma from 12 yards, but the 26-year-old's spot kick was poor, and the Italian was equal to it, seeing the clash end 4-2 to the reigning European champions.
Now, though, it's all eyes on Premier League action, with the Blues hoping to maintain their flawless league record as they welcome Gary O'Neil's Ipswich Town to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
Saturday's adversaries come into the fixture off the back of an extraordinary comeback against Fulham as the Tractor Boys scored twice at the very last through Abdoul Ouattara and Dara O'Shea, which saw Ipswich snatch all three points.
The residents of Portman Road currently sit 10th in the division with an impressive nine points from their first six games, securing wins against Sunderland, Crystal Palace and Fulham but suffering defeat to Manchester United, Liverpool and Everton.
Here's everything you need to know ahead of Manchester City's bout with Ipswich Town on Saturday!
Match Details
Manchester City host Ipswich Town at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday 17 October, with kick-off slated for 15:00 UK.
Match Officials
The Premier League have confirmed that Farai Hallam will oversee proceedings on Saturday afternoon in what will be the 33-year-old's eighth game across competitions so far this campaign having refereed across the Premier League, EFL Championship, and the Carabao Cup third round.
Across his seven previous fixtures this term, Hallam has issued a total of 27 yellow cards and has awarded one spot kick.
Hallam has officiated a match involving Manchester City just once before, having been the man in the middle for the Blues' 2-0 home victory against Wolves at the Etihad Stadium in January this year.
During this tie a total of four players were booked, whilst Hallam also made the bold decision to, on his Premier League debut, disregard advice from the Video Assistant Referee, upholding his original decision and waving away Manchester City penalty appeals for a potential handball against Wolves' Yerson Mosquera.
Check out the full list of match officials here!
Team News
For City, Phil Foden is expected to be Maresca's only absentee, as the No. 47 will serve the final game of his three-match suspension for violent conduct before being back available for the Blues' trip to Villa Park next week.
For Ipswich, Jack Taylor is likely sidelined for his side's visit to East Manchester as the Irishman continues his recovery from a knee injury which has the midfielder out of senior action since June.
The 28-year-old recently featured in the EFL Trophy for Ipswich Town U21s against Peterborough United but is unlikely to be involved on Saturday.
Press Conference Quotes
Enzo Maresca will preview the fixture in a press conference at the City Football Academy from 13:30 UK on Friday.
Refresh for updates.
Head to Head
In the most recent fixture between these two sides, Manchester City ran out resounding 6-0 victors at Portman Road in January 2025 with goals from Phil Foden, Mateo Kovacic, Jeremy Doku, Erling Haaland and James McAtee.
Historically Manchester City have faced Ipswich Town on 68 occasions dating back to August 1961 with a record of 25 wins, 15 draws and 28 losses.
Statistics
Enzo Maresca could become the first manager in PL history to start a new campaign with seven straight wins if City prevail against Ipswich, while the Sky Blues could become just the third team to achieve the same impressive feat after Chelsea in 2005-06 and Liverpool in 2019-20 – both sides went on to win the title in those seasons.
Manchester City have been beaten in only two of their last 32 top-flight matches (W22 D8), while they have lost just two of their last 22 home league fixtures since the start of last season (W17 D3).
Ipswich have won three of their opening six matches at the start of a Premier League season for just the second time after 1993-94 (W3 D2 L1).
Ipswich have conceded the joint second-most goals in the division this term (12) and have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their last 25 Premier League matches, shipping a total of 62 goals at a rate of 2.48 per game.
How To Watch
For those in the United Kingdom this fixture will not be televised due to 3PM blackout laws however radio coverage will be available on BBC Radio Manchester from 15:00 (UK)
For viewers in the United States, the game will be available to stream on FuboTV and USA Network, with action getting underway from 10:00 (EDT).