Champions League 2015/16 profiles: Manchester City

Ins and outs: An English exodus this summer saw four first-team players leave in Frank Lampard, James Milner, Micah Richards and Scott Sinclair, with only two effectively joining. Raheem Sterling cost £49m from Liverpool, while ex-Aston Villa captain Fabian Delph’s U-turn led to consternation in the West Midlands.

Fulham forward Patrick Roberts also joined, but he’s yet to play. Multiple foreign first-teamers left City, headed by striking trio Edin Dzeko, Stevan Jovetic and Alvaro Negredo, plus defensive duo Matija Nastasic and Dedryck Boyata. Incoming through the revolving door are international calibre players Nicolas Otamendi and Kevin De Bruyne, though for hefty premiums.

Key players: It’s all about Man City’s spine; from goalkeeper Joe Hart to captain Vincent Kompany, midfield powerhouse Yaya Toure, playmaker David Silva and lethal striker Sergio Aguero, 16/1 to be Champions League top scorer. Should any one of them be absent through injury of suspension, then the jury is out on whether there is sufficient strength in depth to cover beyond the short-term.

Ones to watch: Big money signings De Bruyne and Otamendi must justify their price tags and will thus be under the microscope. Only Lionel Messi made more assists than the Belgium international, and that extra creativity plus goals from midfield should ease the pressure on Silva and Toure.

Argentina centre back Otamendi, meanwhile, is hopefully a longer term partner for Kompany than ageing compatriot Martin Demichelis and France counterpart Eliaquim Mangala, who was also a club teammate at Porto.

Emerging talent: Nigerian teenage attacker Kelechi Iheanacho is City’s third striking option behind Aguero and Wilfried Bony, while Belgian centre back Jason Denayer is also in this category, but has been loaned out to Galatasaray after an accomplished spell at Celtic last season.

CL group and fixtures: Group D

v Juventus (home), September 15th
v Borussia Monchengladbach (away), September 30th
v Sevilla (home), October 21st
v Sevilla (away), November 3rd
v Juventus (away), November 25th
v Borussia Monchengladbach (home), December 8th