Manchester City confirm 21-man travelling squad to face Sevilla in Champions League group stage opener

Manchester City have announced their 21-man travelling squad to face Sevilla in their Champions League group-stage opener on Tuesday evening.

Pep Guardiola's men will be looking to kick on from an encouraging semi-final finish last season, where they were handed a crushing exit by eventual champions Real Madrid.

Sitting in second place in the Premier League table ahead of the trip to Seville, the English champions remain unbeaten this season ahead of a tight schedule that also sees them go toe to toe with Tottenham, Borussia Dortmund and Wolves in the coming two weeks.

City were held to a frustrating 1-1 draw at the weekend as Leon Bailey cancel an early second-half strike from Erling Haaland, who tapped home from Kevin De Bruyne's lofted ball and bagged his 10th Premier League goal of the season.

Jack Grealish returned to the bench at Villa Park after spending a few weeks on the sidelines and could register his first minutes since City's 4-0 win over Bournemouth against Sevilla on Tuesday.

The England international impressed in City's pre-season games in the United States before starting on the opening day of the season against West Ham, with Erling Haaland scoring twice in a 2-0 win.

Nathan Ake also trained prior to the draw against Aston Villa and replaced Kyle Walker in the final 10 minutes against Steven Gerrard's side.

Walker was not spotted in group training on Monday and misses the trip to Seville as City search for their maiden Champions League title in Pep Guardiola's seventh season at the Etihad Stadium.

Guardiola expects to have Aymeric Laporte back after the international break at the end of the month, with the 28-year-old recovering from knee surgery since pre-season.

A total of 20 outfield players were spotted in first-team training on Monday morning, including academy quartet Rico Lewis, Ben Knight, Josh Wilson-Esbrand, Cole Palmer - as well as new signing Manuel Akanji.

Akanji is expected to travel with the squad to Spain and make his Manchester City debut after signing for a reported £15 million on deadline day from Borussia Dortmund.

The Switzerland international missed City's recent Premier League game against Aston Villa following the birth of his second child on Friday but is ready to be involved against Sevilla on Tuesday.

Here is Manchester City's confirmed 21-man travelling squad for their opening Champions League group-stage tie of the season.

Goalkeepers: Ederson, Stefan Ortega Moreno, Scott Carson.

Defenders: Rico Lewis, Joao Cancelo, Manuel Akanji, Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake, Sergio Gomez, Josh Wilson-Esbrand.

Midfielders: Kalvin Phillips, Rodri, Ilkay Gundogan, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva.

Forwards: Riyad Mahrez, Cole Palmer, Julian Alvarez, Erling Haaland, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish.

John Stones joins Kyle Walker in being notable absentees from the squad, despite appearing to train as normal on Monday morning.

Pep Guardiola is expected to provide an update during his press conference on Monday evening.