Three things spotted in Man City training ahead of the Champions League clash with Sporting

Manchester City threw open their doors to reporters for an opening training session on Tuesday afternoon, the first they’ve hosted since December 2019.

With Covid-19 restrictions, access to clubs has been heavily restricted in the past two years, and understandably so given what an outbreak at a club can mean.

However, the easing of those rules means journalists are now once again allowed to attend in person for Champions League training sessions, and our reporter Michael Plant was one of a handful who witnessed it live from the Etihad Campus on Tuesday afternoon.

City were, of course, preparing for their last-16 tie with Sporting Lisbon on Wednesday, and while all clubs are wary of giving away too much of their pre-match preparations, we did spot three things of note during the session.

Youngsters could be on show

Guardiola said in Tuesday’s press conference that he only has 15 senior players available to him for the second leg with Sporting, two of which are goalkeepers.

It means he had to call up several youngsters for the pre-match session, with Shea Charles, CJ Egan-Riley, Luke Mbete, Samuel Edozie, James McAtee and Liam Delap involved, while Kayky trained with the group as well.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the younger members of the squad notably congregated together, while it was the senior players who were more vocal and cracking jokes.

There’s a very good chance a few of the youth players will feature on Wednesday, with Mbete most likely to start, and Delap and McAtee a possibility to come off the bench.

Who wasn’t there?

Guardiola said Cancelo wouldn’t be involved against Sporting due to illness, while Nathan Ake is still out after picking up a knock in the win over Peterborough United.

Therefore, it was not a surprise that neither were involved in the session at City’s training ground, nor were Cole Palmer or Zack Steffen.

However, one player who was involved was Kyle Walker, who is evidently still in his manager’s bad books due to his suspension for the game against Sporting.

The City manager told reporters he was ‘still angry’ with the England international for his red card against RB Leipzig in the group stages, which means he’s ineligible for selection at the Etihad on Wednesday.

Spirits high

It might be an easy stereotype to fall back on when assessing a winning team, but there seemed to be a great atmosphere in the City ranks during the 15 minutes when the press were allowed in.

The quartet of Jack Grealish, Bernardo Silva, John Stones and Kyle Walker were leading the jokes when they took part in a game of rondo.

Meanwhile, a second group containing Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus, Fernandinho and Rodri among others, were much more restrained during their keep-ball session.