Manchester City just completed their first season without a trophy since Pep Guardiola’s first one on the job, in 2015-2016. So the club considered by many to be the best in the entire world will be very fired up to compete in the Club World Cup. Fortunately, they do not have too many injury concerns ahead of the tournament. Central defender John Stones, who hasn’t featured since February due to a thigh injury, has now returned to training. Stones could feature here.
The news is not so good for Mateo Kovacic, who is out until next season with an Achilles injury.
Manchester City vs Wydad AC FYIs
Kickoff: Wed June 18, 12pm EST, Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, PA
Competition: 2025 FIFA Club World Grouping G Group Stage Matchday 1 of 3
MCFC Preview Material: Tournament Preview Latest Transfer Talk Team News Starting XI Prediction
Watch: DAZN is streaming it for free, with TNT Sports, Tru TV airing some games here and there.
Manchester City Summer Signing Series
Rayan Ait-Nouri Rayan Cherki Marcus Bettinelli Tijjani Reijnders
Manchester City Exits
Other than Stones and Kovacic, City have no injury/fitness/unavailability concerns. Shifting to the summer transfer window, Kevin De Bruyne, one of the best players in club history, has completed his move to Napoli.
It is possible that Jack Grealish could join him, although City would have to take a massive financial loss in order to offload the English winger there. They’ll probably have to take a big hit in the ledger regardless of who signs Grealish, because the offers have been very few and far between.
Plus they paid £100 million to sign him from Aston Villa in 2021.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor 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 currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter