As it happened: Manchester City 4-1 Blackpool

Thanks for joining me here on Vavel for Man City's pre-season friendly against Blackpool!

A comfortable win in the end for Guardiola's men after being level at half-time.

See you next time!

 

The final whistle goes and it's a comfortable win in the end for City.

Their pre-season ends with a 100% record, while Blackpool suffer defeat going into their Championship opener on Saturday.

The visitors have a chance to pull one back as Yates finds John-Jules, who is unable to get his effort on target.

McAtee's cross finds Mahrez, whose acrobatic attempt is blocked and behind for a corner.

 

 

Cancelo crosses and finds Gundogan, who takes a touch before finishing past Grimshaw from close range. 

4-1!

 

Guardiola has made a couple of changes.

Bernardo Silva and Phillipe Sandler on for Ben Knight and Nathan Ake.

Edozie does well to find Fernandinho on the edge of the box, but the Brazilian's strike is deflected into the arms of Grimshaw.

Gundogan fires home from inside the box after a quickly taken free-kick by Mahrez!

3-1.

 

A good City move ends with Mahrez putting them back ahead.

Brilliant ball across field to find him by Fernandinho, and the Algerian finishes with his weaker foot.

 

The teams are back out and we're underway for the second half!

Blackpool bring on Grimshaw in goal.

The sides go in level at half-time.

Edozie's opener cancelled out by Garbutt's spot-kick.

Joao Cancelo plays the ball to Riyad Mahrez and receives it back on the edge of the box, but his first time attempt is well off target.

Luke Garbutt steps up and sends Zack Steffen the wrong way! 
1-1.

The visitors have a penalty after a foul by Ruben Dias on Shayne Lavery.

The Tangerines launch a counter attack and the ball comes to Josh Bowler, but his effort from the edge of the box is well over the bar.

 

City are ahead early on!

Ilkay Gundogan saw his effort blocked, before youngster Samuel Edozie found the net from close range.

The match begins at the Manchester City Academy Stadium!

Despite not being in the City squad tonight, Rodri is also in attendance!

Blackpool keeper Daniel Grimshaw is on their bench tonight.

He joined the club in July on a two-year-deal and will be hoping for some minutes against his former side.

 

 

 

 

 

And here is the Blackpool XI for tonight's game!

 

Here is the confirmed starting line-up for Manchester City this evening!

 

As well as being shown on CITY+, the game is also available to watch on Blackpool's streaming service, Tangerine TV. 

Details on how to watch below.

 

 

Welcome back to our coverage of today's pre-season friendly between Manchester City and Blackpool!

We will have the confirmed line-ups for both teams at 17:00 BST right here on VAVEL.

We will be back ahead of kick-off with more updates.

This will include the confirmed line-ups for both sides and more.

See you then!

Unfortunately, the match is being played behind closed doors so watching in person is not an option.

However, CITY+ subscribers can tune in to watch the game there.

Not a subscriber but wanting to follow the action? Right here on Vavel is your best option with live updates throughout!

Much will depend on the line-up both manager decides to go with in this game, but City should have enough quality to get the win.

They have been impressive in pre-season so far against Championship opposition and I expect that to continue here.

Prediction: Manchester City 3-0 Blackpool.

The previous meetings between the sides came during Blackpool's spell in the Premier League.

City were victorious in both games, with a 3-2 victory at Bloomfield Road in October 2010, and a 1-0 win at the Etihad Stadium on New Year's Day in 2011.

The star man for Blackpool is last season's top scorer, Jerry Yates.

He netted 23 goals in all competitions and has recently signed a new three-year deal after interest from several Championship sides.

 

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The key player for City going into this game is Algerian winger Riyad Mahrez. 

The 30-year-old had a fine season in 2020/21, scoring nine and assisting six in 27 Premier League appearances.

He has also found the net in both pre-season games so far and assisted Samuel Edozie's goal in the win against Barnsley.

 

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With this being Blackpool's final game before their Championship campaign begins, Neil Critchley could be set to field close to his strongest eleven.

Possible Starting XI: Maxwell; Connolly, Keogh, Husband, Garbutt; Mitchell, Ward, James, Hamilton; Yates, Carey.

The Citizens will still be without some of their first choice players as they are yet to return following National Team commitments.

Rodri, Bernardo Silva and Kevin De Bruyne have now returned, and could join the likes of Ruben Dias, Joao Cancelo and Riyad Mahrez in the matchday squad.

It will be interesting to see the line-up he selects ahead of their first competitive game this weekend.

Possible Starting XI: Steffen; Cancelo, Dias, Ake, Zinchenko; Gundogan, Fernandinho, Palmer; Mahrez, Knight, Rogers. 

Blackpool will be looking for a positive result going into their Championship opener away to Bristol City on Saturday.

The Seasiders were promoted from League One last season after beating Lincoln City 2-1 in the play-off final.

Richard Keogh has been added to the squad this summer, and could prove to be a valuable signing.

Pep Guardiola's men enter the game with a 100% record in pre-season after beating Preston and Barnsley.

With another Championship side set to visit, they will be looking to make it three wins from three ahead of Saturday's Community Shield clash against Leicester City.

City played their first two pre-season fixtures at the Academy Stadium against Preston North End and Barnsley, winning 2-0 and 4-0 respectively. 

Blackpool are the next visitors to the stadium, which has a maximum capacity of 7,000. However, the game will be played behind closed doors.

Hello! My name is Dale Winfield and I'll be your host for this game.

We will provide you with pre-game analysis, score updates and news as it happens here on VAVEL!