Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has named a 22-man travelling squad ahead of Saturday’s pre-season friendly against Palermo in Sicily.
The Citizens flew out to Italy on Friday ahead of facing fellow City Football Group outfit and Serie B side Palermo for the Anglo-Palermitan Trophy, commemorating the Sicilian club’s 125-year anniversary and maiden fixture against a team of British sailors back in 1900.
Guardiola and co enter this contest on the back of beating Preston North End 1-0 in a behind-closed-doors friendly last weekend, just over a month on from suffering a 4-3 extra-time defeat to Al-Hilal in the last 16 of the FIFA Club World Cup in their most recent competitive fixture.
Man City’s first-ever encounter with Palermo represents the final warm-up match for Guardiola to take a closer look at his squad ahead of their opening Premier League game of the 2025-26 season away against Wolverhampton Wanderers on August 16.
Guardiola appears to have sent out a strong signal about which players will feature in his first-team plans for the new season, with as many as 10 players absent due to fitness issues or speculation surrounding their futures.
Manchester City's Rodri on June 18, 2025
Rodri, Foden, Gvardiol among 10 absentees
Standout absentees include 2024 Ballon d’Or winner Rodri, Phil Foden and Josko Gvardiol who are all deemed not fully fit to travel to Sicily, according to the Manchester Evening News.
The same can be said for Argentine playmaker Claudio Echeverri, though he has been linked with a loan exit this summer amid reported interest from both Roma and Girona.
Kalvin Phillips - now surplus to requirements under Guardiola - and Mateo Kovacic are ruled out as they continue to recover from Achilles surgery, while summer signing and backup goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli is also absent due to injury.
Grealish, McAtee, Ortega also absent amid transfer rumours
Meanwhile, Jack Grealish, James McAtee and Stefan Ortega have also been omitted from Guardiola’s squad, with all three players expected to leave the club before the summer transfer window closes on September 1.
Grealish, who was also left out of City’s Club World Cup squad, is the subject of interest from Everton who are allegedly in talks with the Citizens over a proposed loan move.
Manchester City's Jack Grealish on January 4, 2025
Sports Mole has exclusively reported that Tottenham Hotspur are also in the running for Grealish and submitted an immediate enquiry following James Maddison's injury blow in a pre-season draw with Newcastle United last week.
As for McAtee, he has attracted interest from several Bundesliga clubs and Nottingham Forest, who have seen a £25m offer rejected by Man City.
Following the arrival of goalkeeper James Trafford, who is set to provide competition for Ederson, Ortega has fallen down the pecking order at the Etihad Stadium and Man City are now believed to be open to offers for the 32-year-old.
Teenage starlet Mukasa called up by Guardiola
One notable inclusion is highly-rated 17-year-old playmaker Divine Mukasa, who arrived at Man City from West Ham in 2023 and has caught the eye at academy level, recording 17 goals and 25 assists in 41 matches.
Summer signings Trafford, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki have all been selected by Guardiola, along with the likes of Ruben Dias, John Stones, Ilkay Gundogan, Jeremy Doku, Omar Marmoush, Erling Haaland and new captain Bernardo Silva.
Man City’s 22-man squad in full:
Goalkeepers:
James Trafford, Ederson
Defenders:
Ruben Dias, John Stones, Nathan Ake, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Manuel Akanji, Matheus Nunes, Nico O'Reilly, Abdukodir Khusanov, Rico Lewis
Midfielders:
Tijjani Reijnders, Ilkay Gundogan, Nico Gonzalez, Bernardo Silva, Rayan Cherki, Divine Mukasa
Attackers:
Omar Marmoush, Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku, Savinho, Oscar Bobb
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