Man City Predicted Lineup vs. Al Hilal: Club World Cup | OneFootball

Premier League, beware. Manchester City are well and truly back. Well, that’s what everyone’s saying, anyway.

Pep Guardiola’s side were superb in their 5–2 beatdown of Juventus in their final group game at the Club World Cup, which meant they advanced into the knockout stages as Group G winners.

The club’s fresh faces have made an immediate impact, and a change of squad dynamics looks set to facilitate an on-field shift. There’s a verve to the Cityzens again; a rediscovered swagger.

Guardiola has rotated his squad handily in the United States so far, but the nature of their performance on Matchday 3 means the manager may be tempted to name a similar-looking starting lineup for their round of 16 clash against Al Hilal.

Man City Predicted Lineup vs. Al Hilal (4-2-3-1)

Savinho scored a delightful goal in City’s win over Juventus. / IMAGO/Sportimage

GK: Ederson—Man City’s No. 31 wasn’t made to pay for his error, which led to Juventus’ early equaliser last time out, and Guardiola may turn to Stefan Ortega between the posts here. However, Ederson is City’s first-choice goalkeeper, and he should start throughout the knockout stages.

RB: Matheus Nunes—While no City player started all three group games, no one played more than Nunes, whose right-back conversion may be the making of him in Manchester.

CB: Rúben Dias—The Portuguese defender started just one group game as Guardiola tinkered, but there will likely be greater stability throughout the knockouts. Dias, as a result, should start in Orlando.

CB: Josko Gvardiol—There’s an array of centre backs to choose from, but we’ll likely see the partnership that started throughout the second half of last season against Al Hilal.

LB: Rayan Aït-Nouri—Aït-Nouri was so good against Juventus that many City supporters will be disappointed not to see the new arrival keep his place.

CM: Nico Gonzalez—Rodri made his first start since September last time out, but he’ll be carefully managed for the rest of the tournament and will likely appear off the bench on Monday night. Nico should thus earn a chance to impress at the base of midfield.

CM: Ilkay Gündoğan—The German scored twice against Al Ain on Matchday 2 but returned to the bench against Juventus. Gündoğan’s role has primarily predicated on box-crashing in 2025, but he could perform a more disciplined function here.

RW: Savinho—City’s work out wide was key to their success against Juve, with Savinho scoring a wonderful fifth in the rout. He worked brilliantly in tandem with Nunes, and the pair should operate in close proximity again on Monday.

AM: Phil Foden—Foden’s tournament started superbly, but the Englishman has played a more limited role since. Still, a return to Guardiola’s starting lineup is on the cards here.

LW: Jérémy Doku—The Belgian live wire has perhaps been City’s star of the Club World Cup so far, and he scored his second goal of the tournament on Matchday 3.

ST: Erling Haaland—Guardiola’s willingness to tinker means Haaland’s played just a bit-part role in the U.S. so far, but he’s found the back of the net twice. He’ll fancy his chances of securing the Golden Boot if City enjoy a deep run.

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