Reijnders and Cherki handed debuts in Club World Cup opener | OneFootball

Summer signings Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki are set to make their City debuts in our FIFA Club World Cup Group G opener against Wydad AC.

Fellow new recruit Rayan Ait-Nouri has been named as a substitute for Pep Guardiola's men in Philadelphia as we look to start our Group G campaign with a win.

There's plenty of quality to call on from the bench aside from the Algeria international, while Ederson has been handed the captain's armband ahead of our clash with our Moroccan opponents.

Teams

CITY XI: Ederson (C), Lewis, Reis, Ake, O'Reilly, Reijnders, Foden, Cherki, Savinho, Doku, Marmoush

Subs: Ortega Moreno, Dias, Stones, Haaland, Nico, Rodri, Gundogan, Bernardo, Ait-Nouri, Gvardiol, Akanji, Nunes, Echeverri, Khusanov, Bobb

WYDAD AC: Benabid, Moufid, Boutouil, Moufi, Meijers, Ferreira, El Moubarik, Zemraoui, Lorch, Amrabat, Mailula

Subs: El Motie, Aqzdaou, Harkass, Moutaraji, Malsa, Arthur, Aziz Ki, Benktib, Pedrinho, Bennani, Mahtou, Rayhi, Obeng, Fathi, Mwalimu

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Tactics

Ederson's goal will be shielded by a back four of Rico Lewis, Vitor Reis, Nathan Ake and Nico O'Reilly, with Reijnders and Cherki expected to line up alongside Phil Foden in the midfield.

Reijnders is expected to sit in front of the defence, a position he knows well from his time with AC Milan and the Dutch national team, allowing the likes of Foden and Cherki to flourish in more advanced positions.

That leaves Savinho and Jeremy Doku on either flank, with Omar Marmoush set to lead the line.

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Double trouble

Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field is quite the arena to make your competitive debut for City, and that's the opportunity that Reijnders and Cherki have been afforded from the start.

Reijnders, a combative midfielder with an eye for goal, will be keen to build on a standout campaign last year when he was named Serie A Midfielder of the Year at AC Milan.

And Cherki, who has looked so impressive in training so far, is sure to make a mark alongside the mercurial Foden.

His incredible first touch in the most recent episode of Inside City offered a tantalising glimpse of the talent that Guardiola now has at his disposal. Now he can be let loose on the big stage.

Exciting new era

This summer represents a new chapter for both City and football generally with the newly formatted FIFA Club World Cup in full swing.

Pep Guardiola was keen to stress that he and the team are viewing the tournament as the beginning of the 2025/26 campaign, and the players have highlighted the importance of a strong start against Wydad AC.

The Blues begin our Group G campaign today, with further fixtures against Al Ain and Juventus in the coming days, but a win today puts City in a strong position to qualify for the knockout stages.

Nico described our clash with Wydad as potentially 'the most important match' of the group for City, while Savinho says the Club World Cup signifies a fresh start for the Blues.

It's an exciting new era for world football, and Pep Guardiola's men will be keen to begin our part in that journey with a big three points in Philadelphia.

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Stats and facts

Manchester City and Wydad AC are meeting for the first time in a competitive match. Including the previous format of the FIFA Club World Cup, it’s also the first match between teams from England and Morocco in the competition.

Wydad AC made two appearances under the previous FIFA Club World Cup format, the joint-most for a club from Morocco. They failed to win a single match in the competition (2 defeats in 2017, 1 draw followed by elimination on penalties in the 2022 edition).

City qualified for the FIFA Club World Cup as the winners of the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League, whilst Wydad AC are in the competition courtesy of winning the 2021/22 CAF Champions League.

Wydad are set to become the first Moroccan team to face English opposition in history, while Manchester City have only faced non-European teams twice before, both at the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup when they beat Urawa Red Diamonds of Japan and Fluminense of Brazil.