Manchester City have finalised their training ground preparations ahead of the opening knockout stage round in this season’s UEFA Champions League.
City’s recent form has been a mix of Premier League frustration and FA Cup progression, starting with a 2-2 draw against Nottingham Forest despite holding a 2-1 lead through Antoine Semenyo and Rodri. Pep Guardiola’s side were pegged back by Morgan Gibbs-White and Elliot Anderson to leave them seven points adrift of league leaders Arsenal.
However, the squad provided an emphatic response three days later with a 1-3 victory over Newcastle at St James’ Park to secure a place in the FA Cup quarter-finals. Despite falling behind to Harvey Barnes, Savinho bundled home a bizarre equaliser, while the second half belonged to Omar Marmoush and his remarkable record against the Magpies, netting a brace.
Victory in the north-east set-up a mouthwatering FA Cup last-eight tie for Manchester City, where they will now host Arne Slot’s Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium in April, in an attempt to reach their second date at Wembley this season.
The schedule now shifts to the pinnacle of European football as City travel to the Spanish capital to face Real Madrid in the Champions League last-16 first leg, followed by a Premier League trip to West Ham on Saturday, where Pep Guardiola will be banned from the touchline.
As City finalise preparations for the first-leg of their last-16 clash in the latest edition of the Champions League, here is the complete list of players spotted on the City Football Academy pitches from the first 15 minutes of the session.
CFA Open Session: 26-Man Squad Finalise Madrid Preparations
Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Donnarumma, James Trafford, Marcus Bettinelli.
Defenders: Matheus Nunes, Rico Lewis, Abdukodir Khusanov, Marc Guehi, John Stones, Ruben Dias, Max Alleyne, Nathan Ake, Rayan Ait-Nouri.
Midfielders: Nico Gonzalez, Rodri, Mateo Kovacic, Bernardo Silva, Nico O’Reilly, Sverre Nypan, Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Cherki, Phil Foden.
Forwards: Savinho, Antoine Semenyo, Erling Haaland, Omar Marmoush, Jeremy Doku.
Injury Boost: Erling Haaland and Mateo Kovacic Spotted in Group Training
Following his absence from the side that beat Newcastle on Saturday night, with Pep Guardiola pointing towards pre-agreed rest, Erling Haaland returned to group training this week and is now expected to travel to Madrid with his teammates.
Three Things We Noticed Today
Mateo Kovacic’s road to a full return: The Croatian midfielder continued to go through his paces alongside his fully-fit teammates with one eye on making a full return to match action in the coming days and weeks.
Erling Haaland well-rested: The Norwegian striker was fit and firing in training having been rested from the weekend’s clash against Newcastle in the FA Cup.
Sverre Nypan’s top-level experience: The formerly on-loan Middlesbrough midfielder was back alongside the first-team squad in the biggest of environments as he continued to work alongside senior squad members despite predominantly featuring for the youth groups since being recalled from the north-east in January.