Manchester City faces Bayern Munich in Tokyo, Japan on Wednesday, as part of what might be the single biggest day in the history of preseason club friendlies.
Obviously, it is a very hard designation to measure- the biggest day for meaningless exhibition matches. However, when you combine Bayern Munich v. Man City with all the big clubs facing each other in the United States, all on July 26, it is really something.
Club Friendly FYIs
Bayern Munich vs Manchester City
Kickoff: Wed. July 26, 11:30am BST, Japan National Stadium, Tokyo, Japan
Preview Content Links: Starting XI Predictions Team News
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
Manchester United faces Real Madrid in Houston, Texas. It’s Chelsea against Newcastle United in Atlanta, Georgia. Arsenal squares off against Barcelona in Los Angeles, California. All on the same day/evening.
Getting back to City versus Bayern Munich, expect both sides to field a pretty strong first team. While the result doesn’t count, this is still a showcase match in a front of a very big crowd.
They’ll want to make a very big impression here, especially when you consider that this is a rematch of last year’s UEFA Champions League quarterfinals.
Starting XIs
Bayern Munich
Ulreich; Mazraoui, Pavard, Upamecano, Davies; Kimmich, Laimer; Coman, Musiala, Sane; Gnabry
Manchester City
Ortega; Lewis, Dias, Laporte; Stones, Rodri; Bernardo, Kovacic, Foden, Alvarez; Haaland
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now. Follow the website on Twitter and Instagram.