Manchester City vs Feyenoord facts

Manchester City are in the unfamiliar position of needing to regroup from a UEFA Champions League defeat as Feyenoord come to north-west England on Matchday 5.

The English champions went down 4-1 at Sporting CP on Matchday 4, ending their 25-match unbeaten run in the competition, excluding penalty shoot-outs. Pep Guardiola's side nevertheless have seven points in this season's league phase having been held 0-0 at home by Inter in their first fixture, a repeat of the 2023 final, before big wins at Slovan Bratislava (4-0) and at home to Sparta Praha (5-0).

Feyenoord are one point worse off despite losing at home to Bayer Leverkusen (0-4) and, on Matchday 4, Salzburg (1-3); they have won both away games, at Girona (3-2) and Benfica (3-1).

Previous meetings

2017/18 Champions League group stage
Feyenoord 0-4 Manchester City
Manchester City 1-0 Feyenoord
John Stones scored twice in City's Matchday 1 victory in Rotterdam, opening the scoring in the second minute and completing the scoring into the 63rd after Sergio Agüero (10) and Gabriel Jesus (25) had also found the net for Pep Guardiola' side against a Feyenoord team coached by Giovanni van Bronckhorst.

Raheem Sterling's 88th-minute strike was the only goal at the City of Manchester Stadium on Matchday 5.

Form guide

Manchester City

Record vs Dutch clubs: W4 D2 L1 F15 A10
Home record vs Dutch clubs: W3 D1 L0

City have not faced Dutch opposition since playing Feyenoord seven years ago.

The English side's first three games against Eredivisie opposition all pitted them against Twente in the UEFA Cup, in the 1978/79 first round (1-1 a, 3-2 h) and the 2008/09 group stage (3-2 h). They then faced Ajax in the 2012/13 Champions League group stage, losing 3-1 in Amsterdam before a 2-2 draw in Manchester.

This is City's 14th successive season in the Champions League proper; they have featured in every campaign since 2011/12 and have reached the knockout stages in each of the last 11.

Having claimed the club's first Champions League title in 2022/23, Guardiola's side won all six group games for the first time last season. That was the seventh successive campaign in which City had come first in their group.

City brushed past Copenhagen in the round of 16 (3-1 a, 3-1 h) but lost an epic quarter-final against eventual champions Real Madrid (3-3 a, 1-1 h, 3-4 pens) – the third season in a row in which they had faced the Spanish side.

The Cityzens are unbeaten in 33 home European matches (W29 D4) since a 1-2 loss to Lyon on Matchday 1 in 2018/19, winning 23 of the last 26.

Guardiola's side claimed a fourth successive Premier League title in 2023/24 – a new English record – but lost to neighbours Manchester United in the FA Cup final to miss out on what would have been a second successive double.

Feyenoord

Record vs English clubs: W7 D5 L13 F21 A39
Away record vs English clubs: W2 D4 L6

Those 2017 games against City are also Feyenoord's last against an English team.

A 1-0 home win against Manchester United in the 2016/17 UEFA Europa League group stage is Feyenoord's only victory in six games against Premier League clubs (D1 L4) and one of only two in the last 11 (D1 L8).

That win against United is also Feyenoord's only success in six home games against English visitors (D1 L4).

The Rotterdammers are making their seventh appearance in the Champions League proper, appearing in the competition for successive seasons for the first time since 2002/03. This is only the third time they have featured in the last 22 campaigns.

European champions in 1970, Feyenoord have never reached the Champions League knockout rounds, although they did qualify for the second group stage in 1999/2000.

In 2023/24, Feyenoord were third in Group E behind Atlético de Madrid and Lazio (W2 L4).

Their subsequent Europa League campaign lasted a single tie, losing to Roma in the knockout round play-offs (1-1 h, 1-1 a aet, 2-4 pens) – the third successive season in which Feyenoord's European campaign had ended in defeat by the Italian side, including a 1-0 loss in the 2022 UEFA Europa Conference League final.

The Matchday 2 win at Girona was Feyenoord's first in 12 away European games (D4 L7) and ended the Dutch club's run of eight successive away defeats in the Champions League proper.

The Matchday 3 victory at Benfica was Feyenoord's third in 15 away Champions League fixtures (D2 L10) and one of only five in the competition proper (D5 L13).

Feyenoord were second in the 2023/24 Eredivisie but did lift the Dutch Cup for the 14th time.

Arne Slot departed for Liverpool in the summer, Feyenoord appointing Sparta Praha coach Brian Priske as his successor.

Links and trivia

City defender Nathan Aké joined Feyenoord's youth system from Den Haag aged 12 in 2007, leaving for Chelsea three years later.

Has played in England:
Hugo Bueno (Wolverhampton Wanderers 2019–24)

Ibrahim Osman is on loan at Feyenoord from Brighton, although he is yet to make a first-team appearance for the Seagulls since signing in February.

International team-mates:
Nathan Aké & Justin Bijlow, Quinten Timber, Calvin Stengs (Netherlands)
Mateo Kovačić & Luka Ivanušec (Croatia)
Manuel Akanji & Jordan Lotomba (Switzerland)

Latest news

Manchester City

On 21 November City confirmed Pep Guardiola had signed a two-year contract extension keeping him at the club until 2027.

Guardiola's side were beaten 0-4 at home by Tottenham in the Premier League on Saturday, their fifth successive defeat in all competitions; they last lost five in a row in April 2006.

It ended City's 52-match unbeaten home run stretching back to November 2022 and was their biggest defeat at the City of Manchester Stadium. They last lost a home game by four goals in February 2003.

It also equalled Guardiola's biggest home defeat as a manager; the Spaniard had never previously lost more than three successive matches in his managerial career.

City had suffered a 2-1 defeat at Brighton on 9 November despite Erling Haaland giving them the lead; it was the 47th Premier League match in which the Norwegian had found the net, the previous 46 all ending in wins or draws.

City's unbeaten start to the Premier League season (W7 D2) was ended by a 2-1 loss at Bournemouth on 2 November. They had been 32 league matches undefeated (W26 D6) stretching back to 6 December 2023, a new club record.

Haaland has 11 goals in 12 Premier League matches this season although only two in his last seven.

Haaland scored in Norway's 4-1 UEFA Nations League win in Slovenia on 14 November and got three more in a 5-0 defeat of Kazakhstan three days later to make it 22 goals for club and country this season.

Joško Gvardiol's equaliser earned Croatia a 1-1 draw against Portugal on 18 November and a place in the Nations League quarter-finals.

John Stones played the first half on Saturday after being out with a foot problem since 30 October; Jack Grealish came on having been out since 20 October.

Mateo Kovačić has been ruled out for up to a month.

Rúben Dias (muscular) has been sidelined since 30 October while Jérémy Doku (muscular) has not played since Matchday 4.

Rodri suffered a cruciate ligament injury against Arsenal on 22 September and has undergone surgery that is expected to rule him out for the rest of the season.

Oscar Bobb suffered a leg fracture in training on 14 August.

On 28 October, Rodri became the first City player to win the Ballon d'Or, picking up the award at a ceremony in Paris.

Feyenoord

Feyenoord have won eight of their last ten matches in all competitions, losing the other two. They were 3-0 victors at home to Heerenveen on Saturday, Anis Hadj Moussa scoring for the third game in a row.

Feyenoord's unbeaten start to the Eredivisie season was ended by a 0-2 loss at home to Ajax on 30 October. That was their first league reverse since a 1-2 loss at home to eventual champions PSV Eindhoven on 3 December 2023; their subsequent record was W21 D8.

Feyenoord's Matchday 3 defeat at home to Salzburg is one of only three losses in 43 games in all competitions – a sequence that includes 30 victories.

Dávid Hancko scored Slovakia's goal in a 2-1 UEFA Nations League defeat in Sweden on 16 November.

Calvin Stengs came on on Saturday for his first appearance since knee surgery at the end of August.

Quinten Timber missed the weekend win with an ankle injury.

Justin Bijlow has not played since 2 November due to a muscle injury.

Ayase Ueda has been ruled out until 2025 after suffering a hamstring problem against Ajax.

Ibrahim Osman (muscle) and Jordan Lotomba (hamstring) have been out since going off injured at half-time on Matchday 4.

Santiago Giménez was replaced in the first half of a 2-0 win at home to NAC on 22 September with a thigh injury and has not played since.