Manchester City may not have hit their own incredibly high standards in 2024/25, but they haven't earned a reputation as one of Europe’s best for nothing. City are frightening at their best, blending a steely defensive appetite with intricate build-up, all in supply of one of the world’s most formidable forwards in Erling Haaland.
If they can perform anywhere close to their best at the Club World Cup, there’s a strong chance they’ll return to English shores in possession of football’s newest silverware and, arguably more importantly, a $125m check. So can ‘The Citizens’ put their sub-par campaign behind them?
The Form Book:
The club’s chairman, Khaldoon Al-Mubarak, emphasised the tournament was “the beginning of the new season” and “not the continuation of last season.” Still, City should take encouragement from their surge towards the back end of the campaign, picking up the most points of any Premier League team since February 2nd.
They’ve tasted defeat in just three of their last 15 league matches, not losing in any of their previous 10. Manuel Akanji’s return to fitness has allowed Pep Guardiola to return to a more defence-first focused backline, only conceding twice in the six games since the Swiss international was given a clean bill of health.
City’s record in this competition before the revamp may instill confidence amongst their supporters. Guardiola’s side are the holders of the tournament despite it being billed as a fresh concept, winning the seven-team iteration in 2023 following their treble-winning season. Entering the semi-final stage, the 2023 UEFA Champions League winners won both of their matches without the opposition scoring, meaning they have yet to concede a goal in Club World Cup history.
The New Faces:
City are looking to make use of the changes to the transfer window by adding reinforcements with Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Ait-Nouri. With the window closing on Tuesday, June 10th, the Premier League side are in a race against time to complete the deals for either to feature in the tournament.
Reijnders brings both a creative and ruthless flair to the side, with more goal contributions than any other midfielder in Serie A in 2024/25. City needs a goalscoring presence from midfield, with Ilkay Gundogan chipping in with fewer goals last campaign and Kevin De Bruyne departing. The Dutch international is set to complete a deal worth a reported €55m.
Ait-Nouri is also close to completing a move to the Etihad from fellow Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers. The Algerian will provide some much-needed defensive cover, with City operating without an orthodox left-back since 2021. He’ll bring drive to the left flank, renowned for his attacking exploits with 10 goal involvements last season.
Both additions should help breathe new life into a City side who still own 10 of the 11 players that started the 2023 tournament final.
The Fitness Boosts:
Whilst there were numerous factors behind The Sky Blues’ struggles earlier in the campaign, the absence of Ballon d’Or winner Rodri was paramount.
The Spaniard was sidelined for nine months after sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture in their clash against Arsenal back in September 2024.
He recently returned to action against Bournemouth, to a chorus of rapturous applause from the Etihad faithful, which will be a big plus for Guardiola. The 28-year-old adds an elegant assuredness to their play, and despite having featured for just 10 of City’s last 4,500 minutes, he should return to the XI.
Erling Haaland is also building up his fitness following a short absence in the season’s dying embers.
The Norwegian missed seven games after picking up a knock in the FA Cup quarter-final win over Bournemouth, but is readily available for the trip to the United States of America. He scored 31 goals across 44 appearances in all competitions, taking his club record to 121 goals in 142 matches.
The Opposition:
With the competition's expansion, 32 teams are set to do battle Stateside once the tournament kicks off on Sunday, 15th June.
Guardiola’s men have been drawn in Group G with their opening game against Moroccan side Wydad. They will also face Italian giants Juventus as well as former AFC Champions League winners and seven-time UAE Champions Al Ain.
City begin their campaign against Wydad in Philadelphia on Wednesday, 18th June. Morocco’s most decorated club, Wydad, have won the Moroccan title on 22 occasions and picked up their third CAF Champions League title in 2022. The last few seasons have seen them struggle in the league table, finishing 3rd and 16 points behind the winners, RS Berkane, in the most recent campaign.
Al Ain enter the tournament following a disappointing AFC Champions League campaign.
Having won the competition in 2023/24, beating the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr, they were eliminated in the league stage in 2024/25. They’ve added former Wolves and Portugal goalkeeper Rui Patricio to their squad ahead of the tournament.
Juventus arguably presents the biggest threat to City in the group, though both could have secured qualification by the time they meet. The Old Lady secured Champions League qualification on Serie A’s final day. Interim manager Igor Tudor is set to remain in charge following a failed pursuit of Napoli boss Antonio Conte.
Should City qualify, they could go on to face the likes of Real Madrid, Chelsea, and PSG, who will all take part in the tournament.
The Dates:
Wednesday 18th June 2025; Manchester City vs Wydad; noon (ET), 17:00 (UK); Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia.
Sunday 22nd June 2025; Manchester City vs Al Ain; 21:00 (ET), 02:00 (UK); Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta.
Thursday 26th June 2025; Manchester City vs Juventus; 15:00 (ET), 20:00 (UK); Camping World Stadium, Orlando.
How to watch the FIFA Club World Cup:
DAZN holds the rights for the tournament and will be showing every minute of the tournament across the USA. Channel 5 will be showing a selection of the games, with 23 in total broadcast on UK terrestrial TV.
