Manchester City’s US tour is part of their pre-season preparation which sees them build up their fitness ahead of a tough defence of their Premier League title. Manuel Pellegrini’s star studded side are fresh off the back of a 2-1 victory over Hearts in Scotland and look to maintain their winning ways in America.
Several world cup players- goalkeeper Joe Hart, defenders Vincent Kompany, Martin Demechellis and Pablo Zabeleta, midfielders David Silva, Yaya Toure and strikers Edin Dzeko and Sergio Ageuro- will not make the journey to Kansas City. Nevertheless, City’s 23 man roster still has quality. Among the notable names are: Jesus Navas, Gael Clichy and Samir Nasri. Negredo would have been involved in the team but due to breaking his foot in the last match he will unfortunately not feature whilst City are in America. Two new signings, midfielder Fernando and goalkeeper Willy Caballero are in the squad, making their 3rd appearance for Mancheseter City since joining the club.
Kansas City fans will be in high spirit in the run up to the game because Graham Zusi and Matt Besler have signed long-term designated player contracts- good news for not only Sporting KC fans, but also for the league. The two talented players, one local, have decided to continue playing with SKC instead of heading abroad. Not only that, the team also recently ended LA Galaxy’s unbeaten streak so they will be looking to do a similar thing to Manchester City in front of an estimated 10-20,000 fans.
The match will be broadcast live on ESPN.
Manchester City’s 23-man Squad
Goalkeepers (3): Willy Caballero, Richard Wright, Ian Lawlor
Defenders (8): Micah Richards, Dedryck Boyata, Gael Clichy, Karim Rekik, Aleksandar Kolarov, Matthias Bossaerts, Matija Nastasic, Jason Denayer
Midfielders (8): Fernando, Samir Nasri, Scott Sinclair, Javi Garcia, Jesus Navas, Jack Rodwell, Bruno Zuculini, Emry Huws
Forwards (4): Stevan Jovetic, John Guidetti, Kelechi Iheanacho (Alvaro Negredo did feature until injured)