Champions League time 😎 #UCL https://t.co/yyx7xpfXx5

— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) October 20, 2026

If you want to watch the Manchester City vs AEK match live on television, your option is Fox Sports.

If you want to watch it live via streaming: fuboTV.

If you want to watch it online, VAVEL is your best bet.

In the pre-match press conference, Maresca revealed that the availability of top scorer Erling Haaland remains in doubt following a very busy period. "[Erling Haaland] might be available. We’ll see," Maresca explained. "He was doing quite well yesterday—better, in fact—so we’ll see how he is today."

"The only player who will be sidelined for likely eight weeks is Antoine [Semenyo]."

Regarding the importance of the match, the Italian manager added: "Tomorrow’s game is very important... We lost the last one, so we need to win matches. We’re going to try to win, fielding the best players we have available right now."

• Referee: Willy Delajod FRA
• Assistant referees: Erwan Finjean FRA and Valentin Evrard FRA
• Video Assistant Referee: Bram Van Driessche BEL
• Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Bastien Dechepy FRA
• Fourth official: Bastien Dechepy FRA

Substitutes Manchester City: Rulli, Bettinelli, Guéhi, Ndiaye, Haaland, Doku, Aït-Nouri, Reis, Bouaddi, McAidoo, Braithwaite.

Substitutes AEK Athens: Balamotis, Kairinen, Gacinovic, Zubkov, Koita, Mantalos, Vida, Lykogiannis, Vitalis, Zini.

Manchester City (4-2-3-1) XI: Donnarumma, Lewis, Khusanov, Dias, Gvardiol, Anderson, Fernandez, Allan, Foden, Cherki, Samba

AEK Athens (4-4-2) XI: Brignoli, Pilo, Relvas, Moukoudi, Rota, Majer, Arriaga, Marin, Joao Mario, Varga, Jovic

Their primary concern heading into this trip is their truly alarming performance in away matches within Europe’s top-tier competition. So far this season, they have failed to secure a single victory in their continental travels.

Răzvan Marin scored the decisive goal in AEK’s opening 1-0 win against LASK and is expected to start in midfield. As is the case for the home side, the treatment room is virtually empty, allowing Nikolic to field his strongest possible starting eleven.

AEK Athens heads into this match following a disappointing 3-1 defeat in the Champions League, suffered away to Shakhtar Donetsk. The Greek side displayed complete defensive fragility in midweek, a performance that necessitates a rigorous process of self-reflection.

Marko Nikolic’s men are in urgent need of a disciplined tactical approach to avoid a total collapse at the Etihad. In truth, their European campaign has been an inconsistent rollercoaster, despite having kept clean sheets during the early qualifying rounds. So far, in the league phase, they have recorded one win and one defeat.

• Manchester City heads into this match following a hard-fought 3-2 domestic victory over Ipswich Town. The "Sky Blues" bounced back quickly after a frantic 4-2 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League just a few days earlier.
• Enzo Maresca’s side appears determined to regain their defensive solidity without sacrificing the high-tempo attacking play they have been displaying. In fact, their effectiveness at the Etihad is generally the key to maintaining an impeccable record in European competitions.
• In this early stage of the season, they have demonstrated overwhelming attacking potential, most notably through commanding victories—a 5-0 win against Norwich and a 5-3 result against Sunderland.

• Ayoub Bouaddi should retain his spot in midfield, which would allow Enzo Fernández to take on a more advanced role—positioned behind Phil Foden, who could lead the attack.
• AEK Athens has had a full week to prepare and should be in a position to field a competitive starting eleven against Manchester City.
• Luka Jovic and Barnabas Varga are expected to spearhead the attack, having each scored four league goals this season.
• Zini, who has netted two goals in the domestic league, could also feature in the attacking setup.

Erling Haaland is expected to be rested, despite having finished the weekend match against Ipswich—which ended in a victory—without any physical issues.

The participation of Mateo Kovacic and Matheus Nunes is in doubt, as both had to leave the pitch during that match; meanwhile, Antoine Semenyo is dealing with a knee problem, and Nico O'Reilly is likely to be sidelined due to a back injury.

Manchester City: Gigi Donnarumma, Matheus Nunes, Rúben Dias, Marc Guéhi, Nico O'Reilly, Ayyoub Bouaddi, Mateo Kovacic, Iliman Ndiaye, Phil Foden, Jérémy Doku, Erling Haaland.

AEK: Alberto Brignoli, Lazaros Rota, Harold Moukoudi, Filipe Relvas, Stavros Pilios, Lovro Majer, Razvan Marin, Milan Vitális, Aboubakary Koita, Luka Jovic, Zini.