Manchester City plot Champions League-style plan for Palermo friendly | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola and Manchester City will seemingly be handling their only public pre-season friendly ahead of the 2025/26 season like a European away clash.

City return to competitive football in 10 days’ time as a tricky test away at Wolves – which could see new signing Rayan Ait-Nouri make his Premier League debut in sky blue against his former side at the Molineux Stadium.

After a disappointing 2024-25 campaign that saw Guardiola and co finish third in the Premier League, crash out of the UEFA Champions League at the Round of 16 stage and lose the FA Cup final to Crystal Palace, City will be keen to win major trophies next season after what has been a significant squad revamp in the transfer window.

Manchester City’s new director of football Hugo Viana has been fundamental to the changes in the dressing room, with Kyle Walker, Kevin De Bruyne and Scott Carson shown the door as the sextuplet of Ait-Nouri, Marcus Bettinelli, Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Cherki, Sverre Nypan and James Trafford have come in.

City were keen to replace Walker with Newcastle and England U-21 defender Valentino Livramento but after talks reached an impasse owing to the Magpies’ hardline stance on a fee for the 22-year-old, it is understood that Manchester City are not actively pursuing a move for the Chelsea academy graduate, as things stand.

Jack Grealish has received an approach from Everton amid talks with City over a potential season-long loan, though Etihad Stadium bosses want Grealish’s loan club to cover all of his wages – understood to be north of £300,000-per-week – as they look to trim their wage bill ahead of the 2025-26 campaign.

James McAtee is also fully expected to complete a permanent move away from the Etihad Stadium in what remains of the transfer window, which closes on September 1. The England U-21 midfielder wants to play regularly and is believed to have taken a tour of suitor clubs in Germany last month as he assesses his options this summer.

Kalvin Phillips has also been told he remains surplus to requirements at the Etihad Stadium, which means there is work to be done by the Manchester City board to offload unwanted names and streamline Guardiola’s squad as the Blues aim to challenge for the Premier League and UEFA Champions League titles next season.

According to a new report from the Manchester Evening News’ Simon Bajkowski, Pep Guardiola is not expected to take all of his Manchester City players to Palermo on Friday afternoon ahead of their pre-season clash with their City Football Group sister club.

With the game involving two CFG sides and being broadcast on Manchester City’s own in-house media channels, Etihad officials have had the freedom to approach the clash however they wish, but new details would indicate a UEFA Champions League away fixture-like view.

The report details that City’s travelling party will take an afternoon flight to Italy after training in Manchester on Friday, with Pep Guardiola and a first-team player speaking to media at the stadium later in the evening.

That approach to the game is also likely to mean that a travelling squad list of players will be announced on Friday ahead of Saturday night’s clash.