Pep Guardiola praises ‘intelligent’ new Man City signing and makes this prediction ahead of Spurs game

Manchester City began their Champions League in emphatic style on Tuesday evening, beating Sevilla 4-0.

The Sky Blues dominated the game with 62% possession, while having 24 shots compared to Sevilla’s six.

Pep Guardiola made three changes to his starting XI that drew 1-1 with Aston Villa last weekend with Jack Grealish, Sergio Gomez and Manuel Akaji replacing Ilkay Gundogan, Kyle Walker and John Stones.

Akanji, who joined City from Borussia Dortmund on deadline day, made his debut for the club on Tuesday and received praise from Guardiola for his performance.

The Catalan was especially impressed by the centre-back’s intelligence when in possession of the ball and compared him to fellow Sky Blues defender Aymeric Laporte.

“He trained one day and a half with us, but he showed what experience he has at Dortmund and what a good central defender Manchester City brought to us,” Guardiola said after the game.

“He has quality similar like Aymer [Laporte] - he can break the lines with the pass.

“Manuel is really intelligent and great with the ball. City brought me and the club a fantastic player.

“He’s a fantastic age at 27 and mature so yeah, really good.

“He reads really well the spaces, and I am very pleased for him.”

Akanji has previous experience of playing in the Champions League with Dortmund and Basel with his previous best-place finish coming in the quarter finals of the competition with the German side.

The Swiss defender, who has represented his country on 41 occasions, will be hoping his move to City will lead to further progression in the Champions League, with the Sky Blues previously reaching the final in 2021.

Akanji could be in line for his Premier League debut on Saturday afternoon when City welcome Tottenham Hotspur to the Etihad Stadium.