Manchester City take on Moroccan side Wydad in their first Club World Cup game with fans eager to see the lineup
Tijjani Reijnders
Tijjani Reijnders
The new season is here! Sort of, if you count the Club World Cup.
Manchester City are definitely taking the competition seriously, and not just because they are technically the defending champions after their triumph in the old format in 2023. Pep Guardiola and his players see this tournament as a chance to banish the pain that they all felt last season as they came up well short in the Premier League and Champions League.
They take on Moroccan side Wydad in their first of three group games over the next nine days that will determine whether they can progress to the knockout stage and who they will face. With four new faces in the squad, fans are excited to get their first glimpses of the players that have been brought in to improve competition.
Rayan Ait-Nouri should be a popular pick at left-back given City have gone so long without a specialist in the position. Others will get games there but the quicker he gets used to what is expected of him the better.
He can do that with Josko Gvardiol next to him, who has played that position for most of the last two years, and with Ruben Dias alongside him after their successful partnership struck up in the final months of the season. Manu Akanji and Nathan Ake at least are pushing for selection but if Dias has been with Portugal he can afford his teammates a few extra days to catch up.
Right-back is going to be as interesting as left-back, with Ait-Nouri or wingers potentially changing the way City will go about it. Rico Lewis and Matheus Nunes are the two obvious options, and Nunes did well in the final game of the season at Fulham; that pick could be telling for City's overall shape though.
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It feels uneccessary to start the likes of John Stones, Rodri and Oscar Bobb too early after their serious injuries, and new captain Bernardo Silva was better towards the end of last season playing defensive midfield. He can operate alongside Nico Gonzalez to give a platform for new boy Tijjani Reijnders.
Rayan Cherki is probably the most anticipated new face given his reputation for exciting football, but Guardiola likes to reward players he already has to keep their confidence levels up. It wouldn't be a surprise to see Savinho or Jeremy Doku starting against Wydad, with Omar Marmoush and Erling Haaland completing the lineup.
For the first time in a while, the bench feels like it will be full of hungry options as well with lots of players looking to come on and make their mark in City's new era.
Predicted XI: Ederson, Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, Ait-Nouri, Silva, Gonzalez, Reijnders, Marmoush, Savinho, Haaland
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