Foden captains City in Maresca’s first match as boss | OneFootball

Phil Foden will lead City in Enzo Maresca’s first match as manager.

Men's Team

Maresca outlines his main target for pre-season game against Inter

We take on Inter in Hong Kong at 12:30 (UK) for the maiden outing of pre-season, with the match live globally (except China and Italy) on mancity.com and our official app for those with a CITY+ subscription.

Subscribe to CITY+ to see our Tour matches

Despite several key players still being unavailable following this summer’s World Cup, City’s starting XI comprises of nine internationals, complemented by two youngsters in the form of Stephen Mfuni and Divin Mubama.

Should the match remain level after 90 minutes, it will go straight to penalties in order to decide the winner of the Asahi Super Dry Trophy.

Teams

CITY XI: Donnarumma, Lewis, Khusanov, Gvardiol, Mfuni, Kovacic, Reijnders, Semenyo, Foden (C), Savinho, Mubama

Subs: Bettinelli, Nico, Ait-Nouri, Reis, Echeverri, Monga, McAidoo, Braithwaite, Mukasa, Alleyne, Sangare, F. Samba, Heskey, Wint, Henderson-Hall, Chabot, Parker

INTER XI: Martinez, Pavard, Augusto, Bisseck, Dimarco, Stankovic, Diouf, Mkhitaryan, Barella, Iddrissou, Esposito

Subs: Di Gennaro, Provedel, Farronato, Zielinski, Sucic, Henrique, Bonny, Frattesi, Calhanoglu, Bovio, Mosconi, Lavelli, Marello, Maye, Topalovic, Bastoni

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Men's Team

PUMA and City unveil 26/27 away kit in Hong Kong

Tactics

Rico Lewis will likely play right-back and Stephen Mfuni on the left, with Abdukodir Khusanov and Josko Gvardiol between them.

Mateo Kovacic and Tijjani Reijnders will hold fort in the centre of midfield with Phil Foden, Antoine Semenyo and Savinho interchanging ahead of them.

Divin Mubama leads the line.

Mfuni and Mubama

This isn’t new territory for the talented prospects, having both played senior football for City in the past.

18-year-old Mfuni is a composed and physical defender capable of playing at left-back or in the middle.

He made his City debut as a substitute in the FA Cup rout over Exeter City in January before impressing on loan at Watford for the rest of the season.

21-year-old Mubama is a powerful and intelligent forward with a keen eye for goal.

He’s played twice for City, scoring in the January 2025 8-0 defeat of Salford City.

squad game

With an initial travelling party of 28 players all eligible to play, we can expect rotation throughout the game.

While it’s by no means indicative of the side we can expect to start the Community Shield and our Premier League opener at Crystal Palace, there will be plenty City fans can learn about Maresca’s plans for his team over the 90 minutes.

The players trained on this surface last night in front of more than 22,000 adoring fans and have been hard at work ever since landing in Hong Kong on Wednesday.

With only two more matches after this in Asia before we return home, there’s little time to waste to make sure we hit the ground running at the start of the campaign.

Men's Team

Vieri: Big pre-season games like City v Inter push players

Our Away kit’s first run out

It was a special unveiling for our brand new 2026/27 PUMA Away kit on Thursday, with Phil Foden, Abdukodir Khusanov and Ryan McAidoo doing the honours on a floating pitch in Hong Kong’s iconic Victoria Harbour.

Bold black and yellow, finished with a swarm of worker bees, this kit is built around one of the most recognisable symbols in the city – the Manchester bee.

BUY YOUR 2026/27 AWAY KIT NOW

The bee has been on the streets of Manchester long before it was on a football shirt - a symbol of the graft, unity, and resilience that define the city.

The 2026/27 Away kit puts it front and centre, with a design that channels the noise of the away end and the identity of the streets back home.

And today is the very first time we’ll wear it on the pitch!

Men's Team

Chivu: Maresca is the right manager for City

Shared history

The mere mention of Inter to City fans elicits special memories of the 2023 Champions League final – the greatest night in the Club’s history.

Of course, there’s been lots of change since that night but the two clubs remain two of the biggest names in Europe, as demonstrated by the attention simply being in this part of the world generates.

Men's Team

City v Inter: Played for both

Just this week there’s been another connection created between the two clubs, with perhaps the Man of the Match in that Champions League final in John Stones signing for Inter after leaving City following 10 glorious years.

Stones isn’t here for this one after helping England to the semi-finals of the World Cup, but City fans will be keeping an eye on his progress in Serie A throughout the season no doubt.