Manchester City return to competitive action this Saturday when they take on Manchester United in the Community Shield.
For both sides, the new campaign ends as the last one started: A Manchester derby at Wembley.
City have struggled in this fixture over recent years and have lost the season curtain raiser in each of the last three years. The Premier League champions will be desperate to begin the new term with a win over their rivals and by picking up silverware, but it’s likely there will be an experimental feel to Saturday’s game.
United have been rocked by a defensive injury crisis ahead of the game and the availability of those involved in this summer’s major international tournaments is unclear.
City are in a similar boat and majority of those who played at Euro 2024 and the Copa America only returned to training in the last week, while Kyle Walker, John Stones, Rodri and Phil Foden still aren’t back in pre-season following their extended runs with England and Spain.
The Blues were forced to select understrength XIs across their four US friendlies and, with the plethora of missing senior players, the team was bolstered by the inclusion of several youngsters. It’s likely Guardiola’s side at Wembley will resemble the XI that was selected in last week's final summer friendly against Chelsea.
There is expected to be at least one change though, with Josh Wilson-Esbrand picking up a knock in that match. Here’s the side we expect City to line up with this weekend…
1. GK: Stefan Ortega
Played in last season's Community Shield and Guardiola tends to select his second choice in the fixture. Ederson has only played in the season opener in one of the last three years.
2. RB: Rico Lewis
Spoke about playing in midfield during pre-season but it's likely he'll line up in defence on Saturday. Lewis picked up a knock in the Chelsea win but was back in training this week so should be fine to start.
3. CB: Kalvin Phillips
Started the last two games of the US tour at the heart of defence and performed better than in midfield. The lack of centre-back options could see Phillips play in that role once again on Saturday.
4. CB: Manuel Akanji
Only returned to training on Monday, as did Ruben Dias, but with Guardiola lacking options in defence he could give both players 45 minutes in the derby.