In the words of singer James Taylor “gone to Carolina in my mind.” But also physically and literally too. That’s reality for Manchester City and Celtic, who will square off in their first friendly of their respective preseason tours of the United States.
The match will be held at Kenan Memorial Stadium, home of the North Carolina Tar Heels football (American style) team.
Preseason Friendly FYIs
Manchester City vs Celtic
Kickoff (local time): Tue July 23, 7:30 pm, Kenan Memorial Stadium, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
Man City Preview Content: Team News Starting XI Prediction Tour Travel Squad List
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
It’s a beautiful, but also utilitarian facility, as there reality isn’t a bad seat at all in the entire place. This will be the second time the stadium on the campus of University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill has hosted football/soccer teams from this part of the country. Last year, Chelsea beat Wrexham 5-0 on this site.
And Manchester City will fit right in, with the Carolina/Sky/Power blue as the dominant color that is pervasive everywhere.
In terms of trying to pick what kind of first team City manager Pep Guardiola will go with here…expect it to be heavy with kids. The travel squad, announced yesterday, is overloaded with youth team players.
Manchester City Starting XI Prediction vs Celtic (Preseason Friendly)
Stefan Ortega; Rico Lewis, Stephen Mfuni, Callum Doyle, Luke Mbete; Maximo Perrone, Kalvin Phillips; James McAtree, Oscar Bobb, Jack Grealish; Erling Haaland
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 Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network and the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.