Credit: imago

Chris Smith

Fri 8 August 2025 20:00, UK

Pep Guardiola will get one final chance to look at his Manchester City team in Saturday’s friendly against Palermo.

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The Cityzens have had a quiet few weeks following the conclusion of their Fifa Club World Cup campaign, opting to rest their stars rather than send them on gruelling tours.

However, City did beat Preston North End 1-0 in a recent behind-closed-doors friendly.

Now, they will travel to Italy to take on sister club Palermo, who are aiming to earn promotion back to Serie A in the upcoming season.

Jack Grealish and James McAtee reportedly didn’t feature in the win over Preston (City Xtra, 6 August) as they’re heavily linked with a move away from City this summer.

Everton seem to be seriously stepping up their loan interest in Grealish, who is also attracting the attention of Tottenham Hotspur following James Maddison’s injury.

McAtee, meanwhile, seems to be edging closer to a move to Nottingham Forest.

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Neither player is expected to make the trip to Italy to face Palermo.

Rodri is yet to rejoin full training since injuring his groin at the Club World Cup, with the Spaniard still trying to build up fitness following a long layoff with an ACL tear.

Mateo Kovacic and Kalvin Phillips are also recovering from serious injuries, though the latter doesn’t have a future at the Etihad Stadium and likely wouldn’t have played anyway.

All of that said, Guardiola will see this as a vital chance to test his strongest team ahead of the Premier League big kick-off next week.

Credit: BuildlineupPep Guardiola will expect a big win from his side on Saturday (Credit: Imago)

Pep Guardiola will be absolutely desperate to reclaim the Premier League title following a disappointing 2024/25 season, and this is his last chance to send out a real statement to Liverpool and Arsenal.

City were disappointing in their last-16 exit at the Club World Cup, but looked rampant during the group stages, with a 5-2 win over Italian giants Juventus particularly impressive.

OpponentResultWydad Casablanca2-0 WAl-Ain6-0 WJuventus5-2 WAl Hilal3-4 LMan City’s Club World Cup results

They should put their sister club to the sword here, despite the Pink and Blacks winning all four of their friendlies this summer so far.

City are simply too much of a step up in class.

The real question is what sort of performance are we going to see?

There are also players whose places are under threat after a poor campaign, like Phil Foden, or are battling hard against a fearsome teammate for a place in the starting XI, such as Omar Marmoush vying or a spot either at No.9 ahead of Erling Haaland or No.10 ahead of Rayan Cherki.

City have plenty to prove, so expect them to be anything but ‘friendly’ here.

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