Man City enter a new era of European football on Tuesday as they enter the group stage of the Champions League for the first time under the guise of Pep Guardiola, with German side Borussia Monchengladbach the visitors at The Etihad.

The Sky Blues have made a flying start to life under the Spaniard, with four wins from four games in the Premier League, with the latest being their 2-1 win over fierce rivals Man United. They also enjoyed a 6-0 aggregate win over Steaua Bucharest in the Champions League qualifiers.

Success in the biggest tournament in European football has, to this day, eluded the blue half of Manchester, with their best run coming under Manuel Pellegrini last season, as they were knocked out in the semi-final by Real Madrid, who went on to beat their rivals Altetico in the final.

The former Barcelona boss has reached a point in his career where by he is so successful that he is now judged mainly by success in Europe, meaning it will be a must win during his time with City.

With Gladbach the visitors on Tuesday night, Guardiola’s side a strong favourites, and here is the line up that will make easy work of the Bundesliga outfit…

GK: Claudio Bravo

City’s latest addition, and Joe Hart’s replacement, didn’t get off to a good start at his new club with a shaky performance against Man United on Saturday, where his mistake lead to Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s goal, before he nearly gave away a penalty with a dangerous challenge on Wayne Rooney.

A Manchester derby is far from an easy debut, so maybe the Chile international can be forgiven, but with a much easier challenge on Tuesday night, the shot-stopper will be expecting a much better performance, as will the rest of The Etihad.

RB: Pablo Zabaleta

Guardiola’s new style which has been implemented at City encourages the full-backs to be involved as much as possible, pushing in behind the midfield whenever his side are pushing forward.

This is a big change for the Sky Blues squad which will require a lot of hard work adapting and in terms of physical output during the game, meaning that rotation is crucial. With that in mind, it is fair to assume that Zabaleta will come in for Sagna, who started at Old Trafford.

CB: John Stones

The former Everton man is beginning to settle in at his new club, and Guardiola will be keen to give him as much game time as possible in order to develop him into the centre-half he wants.

As has been evident already this season, the England international is being encouraged to pick up the ball and drive forward when he can to make a contribution further up, something we could see plenty of on Tuesday night.

CB: Nicolas Otamendi

The Argentina international has, after a shaky start to life in the Premier League, come on leaps and bounds since the arrival of the former Barcelona boss.

Like his defensive partner, John Stones, the former Valencia man will need as much game time as possible in order to continue that progression, which means a lot of Saturday and Tuesday weeks ahead.

LB: Gael Clichy

Similar to Zabaleta on the right hand side of the back four, we can expect to see the Frenchman come into the side for Kolarov who played 90 minutes in the Manchester derby win.

Guardiola has been chopping and changing his full-backs so far this season and Clichy will want to take his chance to impress on Tuesday, having been at fault for West Ham’s goal in the 4-1 win before the international break.

DM: Fernandinho

The former Shakhtar Donetsk man has made an impressive start to the season, playing in a more defensive role than he has before at The Etihad, with Guardiola often asking him to drop in alongside the centre back as the full-backs get forward.

After such a string of performances it is hard to imagine the Brazil international being dropped, as he looks set to continue in that vein of form and be a crucial component of City’s European campaign.

RW: Raheem Sterling

The former Liverpool man has made a flying start under his new boss after a disappointing start to life at Man City under Manuel Pellegrini last season.

The 21-year-old was named Premier League Player of the Month for August, having scored twice and setup another two in the opening three games this season, and he will be keen to open his Champions League account on Tuesday.

CM: David Silva

The Spain international has once again proved his worth early on in the season, capped with a brilliant performance against Man United where he ran the Red Devils ragged in the first half.

The former Valencia man looks renewed under Guardiola and can carry his beloved Sky Blues to victory at home and abroad this season, starting with Gladbach on Tuesday.

CM: Kevin De Bruyne

The Belgian has been everything he promised to be and more since arriving from Wolfsburg last summer, and has continued to impress under his new manager.

The United defence looked helpless at times as the former Chelsea man carried the ball forward, he is arguable the best player to watch in the Premier League and will look to carry that talent across Europe this season.

LW: Leroy Sane

After such an impressive performance against Mourinho’s side on Saturday, it is hard to see how Guardiola can make too many changes, however, the former Schalke man looks ready to make his full debut at The Etihad.

Having missed the start of the season through injury the Germany international won’t want to waste anymore time in forcing his way into his new manager’s first team plans.

ST: Sergio Aguero

Despite being banned for three games in the Premier League, the Argentina international is available for selection against the Bundesliga side on Tuesday night.

As well as for the obvious reasons for being picked, Guardiola will want to use any opportunity to field his suspended star and keep him match fit and prepared for his return to domestic football.