The Premier League champions have been in the United States since Friday, preparing their training ground and enhancing match readiness. They are also fostering group camaraderie among the significantly revamped team.
Manchester City’s squad mainly consists of Academy players, as the club has given their European Championship stars an extended summer break.
Most of these players will not participate in the U.S. tour. Josko Gvardiol and Mateo Kovacic are the only other first-team members expected to join the team in the United States. The Croatian duo will link up with the squad in New York ahead of their match against AC Milan at Yankee Stadium.
The upcoming match against Celtic on Tuesday night marks the first encounter between the two teams since their 2016 UEFA Champions League group stage clash.
During Pep Guardiola’s inaugural season as Manchester City manager, the teams played to a thrilling 3-3 draw at Celtic Park, followed by a 1-1 draw at the Etihad Stadium.
The goals in those matches came from four players who are no longer with the club: Fernandinho, Raheem Sterling, Nolito, and Kelechi Iheanacho.
Before the kick-off at Kenan Memorial Stadium for Manchester City’s opening pre-season friendly of their 2024 USA tour, here is the line-up for both the Premier League and Scottish Premier League champions in North Carolina:
Manchester City’s starting XI includes Ortega, Lewis, Simpson-Pusey, Mbete, Wilson-Esbrand, Phillips, O’Reilly, McAtee, Bobb, Haaland (C), and Grealish. Their substitutes are Ederson, Carson, Perrone, Wright, Katongo, Ndala, Galvez, Susoho, Oboavwoduo, Heskey, Doyle, Fatah, Mfuni, Hamilton, Samuel, and Knight.
Celtic’s starting XI features Schmeichel, Ralston, Welsh, Scales, Taylor, McGregor (C), O’Riley, Hatate, Kühn, Maeda, and Kyogo. The substitutes include Sinisalo, Bain, Lagerbielke, Palma, Yang, Holm, Kobayashi, Kwon, Tomoki, Anderson, Lawal, Murray, Forrest, Dede, Donovan, Turley, and M. Johnston.
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