Bosnia And Herzegovina
Czech Republic
Hungary
Indonesia
South Africa
South Korea
United Arab Emirates

Man Cityvs.AC Milan

sportsmole.co.uk, 25 July 2024, 22:39
Manchester City are set to play AC Milan in a pre-season friendly at Yankee Stadium on Saturday.

Pep Guardiola's side won their fourth-consecutive Premier League title last season, while AC Milan finished second in Serie A with 75 points but ended 19 points behind winners Inter Milan.

Match preview

The Citizens have enjoyed an unprecedent era of success in the Premier League, and their most recent title win was their sixth in seven seasons.

City accumulated 91 points last term and held off fierce competition from competitors Arsenal and Liverpool, proving once again that they were the England's best side.

Despite their success, they will have been disappointed to have been knocked out of the Champions League last season against Real Madrid in the quarter-finals, and they also ended the campaign on a sour note after they lost the FA Cup final against city-rivals Manchester United on May 25th.

There is also an air of uncertainty at the club given Guardiola has entered the final year of his contract, and the hearing in November when they are set to defend themselves against 115 charges of breaching the Premier League's financial rules is looming.

Having said that, Guardiola will only be focused on delivering a fifth consecutive title and will look to ensure his side are ready for their Community Shield clash against the Red Devils on August 10th.

In their last pre-season friendly, City lost 4-3 against Celtic on July 24 but Erling Haaland managed to find the back of the net in typical fashion.

Opponents AC Milan will be hoping that their pre-season fixtures can get the team accustomed to new manager Paulo Fonseca's style.

Fonseca was announced as the club's new boss in June after Stefano Pioli was sacked in May following a run of one win in eight matches.

Despite their 2021-22 title win being Milan's first since 2010-11, Pioli's time at the club came to an end after they finished 20 points behind title winners Napoli in 2022-23 and 19 behind fierce rivals Inter last term.

As for Fonseca, his job as Rossoneri boss is his 12th managerial role, and his second in Italy after previously coaching Roma from June 2019 until June 2021.

Milan scored 76 goals and conceded 49 times last season, and this made them the division's second best offensive and 11th best defensive side.

Fonseca's side have not won any of their two pre-season friendlies so far, and given they are set to face Manchester City, Real Madrid and Barcelona in their next three matches, the new manager may have to wait a while longer until he gets his first win as boss.

Manchester City friendly form:

L

Manchester City form (all competitions):

AC Milan friendly form:

L

D

AC Milan form (all competitions):

The Manchester City players to have featured in the Euros and Copa America will miss out on Saturday, although Rodri does have an injury to contend with regardless.

Youngsters such as Luke Mbete, Jahmai Simpson-Pusey and Josh Wilson-Esbrand all started against Celtic and could retain their places in defence.

Goalkeeper Ederson Moraes has frequently been linked with a move to the Saudi Pro League, and it will be interesting to see if Guardiola opts to start Stefan Ortega once again.

As for AC Milan, new signing Alvaro Morata will not feature considering his recent Euros win.

Considering Fonseca's side have already played two pre-season matches, he could be set to name a strengthened XI against Guardiola's team.

Regulars like Fikayo Tomori, Ismael Bennacer and Alessandro Florenzi all came on at half time in Milan's last match against Rapid Vienna on July 20, and they could be in line to start against City at Yankee Stadium.

Manchester City possible starting lineup:

Ortega; Lewis, Mbete, Simpson-Pusey, Wilson-Esbrand; Phillips, Perrone; Bobb, McAtee, Grealish; Haaland

AC Milan possible starting lineup:

Sportiello; Calabria, Tomori, Jimenez, Florenzi; Bennacer, Pobega; Chukwueze, Liberali, Traore; Colombo

We say: Manchester City 2-3 AC Milan

Although Manchester City have only played one pre-season game, they still managed to score three times against Celtic and should be confident of causing AC Milan's defence problems.

Previews by email

Top News

16 February 2025 talksport.com Arsenal cult hero Luis Boa Morte and Middlesbrough legend George Boateng are both set to be interviewed by Blackburn, talkSPORT understands. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk With a Champions League last-16 tie against either Barcelona or Liverpool on the line, Benfica and Monaco reconvene for the second leg of their playoff battle on Tuesday night at the Estadio da Luz. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City will be aiming to overturn a first-leg deficit when they head to Spain on Wednesday for the second leg of their Champions League knockout round playoff with Real Madrid. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Real Madrid will be bidding to book their spot in the knockout round of the Champions League when they welcome Manchester City to Bernabeu for the second leg of their playoff clash on Wednesday night. 16 February 2025 talksport.com The Premier League has two mouthwatering games on Sunday and talkSPORT has all the latest. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Taking a slender lead to San Siro, Feyenoord endeavour to finish the job on AC Milan when they reconvene for Tuesday's Champions League playoff second leg. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United centre-back Lisandro Martinez has confirmed that he has undergone surgery on the severe knee injury that he suffered against Crystal Palace earlier this month. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Marcus Rashford is reportedly still hopeful of completing a 'dream switch' to Barcelona during this summer's transfer window. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United are reportedly prepared to make a €150m (£125m) move for Atletico Madrid forward Julian Alvarez during this summer's transfer window. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk All transfer business is done and dusted for this season, but that doesn't stop clubs from preparing ahead for next season. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Hatayspor vs. Alanyaspor (Sunday, 10.30am) Round 24 of the 2024-25 Turkish Super Lig campaign pits relegation candidates Hatayspor against mid-table Alanyaspor at the Mersin Stadyumu on Sunday evening. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Nijmegen vs. Almere City (Sunday, 11.15am) Aiming to make it back-to-back wins and move closer to escaping the foot of the Eredivisie table, Almere City will travel to the Goffertstadion on Sunday to take on NEC. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Espanyol vs. Athletic Bilbao (Sunday, 1.00pm) Athletic Bilbao will be aiming to stretch their unbeaten run in La Liga to 15 matches when they head to Espanyol on Sunday. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Fiorentina vs. Como (Sunday, 11.30am) Top-four contenders Fiorentina will aim to boost their hopes of European qualification on Sunday, as they welcome Serie A strugglers Como to Stadio Franchi. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Werder Bremen vs. Hoffenheim (Sunday, 2.30pm) European hopefuls Werder Bremen will welcome relegation-threatened Hoffenheim to Weserstadion on Sunday in their 22nd Bundesliga game of the season. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Montpellier vs. Lyon (Sunday, 2.00pm) Looking to give their survival hopes a major boost, Montpellier HSC will welcome Champions League-chasing Lyon to Stade de la Mosson-Mondial 98 on Sunday afternoon for a Ligue 1 battle. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Hearts vs. Rangers (Sunday, 12.00pm) Hearts host Rangers in the Scottish Premiership this weekend, hoping to boost their chances of qualifying for European football next season. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool vs. Wolves (Sunday, 2.00pm) With or without Arne Slot on the touchline, Liverpool's pursuit of Premier League stardom when Wolverhampton Wanderers stop over at Anfield on Sunday afternoon. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool could face a difficult test at Anfield on Sunday against Wolverhampton Wanderers and will have to show improvements from last time out, Reds expert David Lynch has argued. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United attacker Amad Diallo took to Instagram and confirmed he is set to be sidelined for some time after suffering an injury in training. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool centre-back Ibrahima Konate has hinted that he would be happy to stay at Anfield despite interest from Paris Saint-Germain. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool have reportedly accepted that goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher will leave in the summer transfer window, and are said to be willing to do business for a fee of £30-40m. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk The primary job of a goalkeeper is to keep the ball out of the back of their own net, but there are times, especially in the modern era, where we see some shot-stoppers contributing to goals at the right end of the pitch. 15 February 2025 talksport.com Arsenal might be struggling for strikers but one former wonderkid is loving life away from north London. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal should not give any thought to signing an "out of shape" free agent to solve their attacking shortage, Gunners expert Charles Watts has told Sports Mole. 15 February 2025 talksport.com Xabi Alonso continues to haunt his former employers Bayern Munich. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Despite being by far the better side, Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 0-0 draw with Bayern Munich at BayArena on Saturday in an anticlimactic six pointer in the Bundesliga title race. 15 February 2025 talksport.com Aaron Lennon believes Tottenham's clash against Manchester United could be a preview of the Europa League final. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Everton won their fourth Premier League match in five as they beat hosts Crystal Palace 2-1 at Selhurst Park on Saturday evening. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick could make two changes to his XI for Monday's La Liga contest with Rayo Vallecano.
there is nothing here yet