Club World Cup Preview: Manchester City

In partnership with

Hooligan Soccer

·12 de junho de 2025

Club World Cup Preview: Manchester City

The twenty-fifth in our continuing series highlighting all thirty-two clubs in the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup. The event starts on Saturday, June 14th.

Club Background

From: Manchester, England
How They Qualified: Won the UEFA Champions League in 2023.
Best CWC Finish: Won it in 2023, defeating Fluminense. This is their second trip.

Recent Form: By normal soccer standards, very damn good. But a disappointment in all other respects. Finished fourth in the Premier League and secured a Champions League spot for next season. This is their first year in a long time where they have not collected silverware by this time.
Facts: Founded in 1880. Spent nearly two decades in the 2nd division before their promotion back to the Premier League in 2001. Since 2008, the club was taken over by the Abu Dhabi United Group. This led to a sustained period of success for the club. They are facing 100+ counts of violating Premier League finance regulations going back years.

The Team

Manager: Pep Guardiola Expect a LOT of whinging and whining from Pep if they fail to advance out of the group stage. In previous tournaments he’s blamed the pitch, the ball and the referee for his team’s inability to advance.
Star Players: Quite honestly you could take nearly anyone from the starting eleven and put them here.
Young Players: Rico Lewis 20 year-old English full-back. Oscar Bobb 21 year-old Norwegian winger.
Training Sites: Lynn University, Boca Raton, Florida

When to Watch

12:00pm ET on Jun 18, 2025 vs. Wydad AC @ Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, PA
9:00pm ET on Jun 22, 2025 vs. Al Ain @ Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA
3:00pm ET on Jun 26, 2025 vs. Juventus @ Camping World Stadium, Orlando, FL

The Hooligan Take

In tournaments of this sort, teams with Manchester City’s history and track record are usually favored to win. So if they don’t advance out of this group there will be a public inquest and heads will have to roll. My biggest roster question is the status of Kevin de Bruyne. He’s leaving the club at the end of June, though to where is still undetermined. I don’t see him playing, but you never know. Other questions are whether Erling Haaland and Phil Foden can rediscover their form and score some goals. Both had disappointing seasons (by their standards). These group fixtures could be a prime time for the non-starters to take the pitch and impress..