Pep Guardiola’s champions face off against Nuno Santo’s side in China after running out convincing winners against West Ham and Newcastle respectively
Having brushed aside domestic rivals West Ham in scintilating fashion on Wednesday, Manchester City will look to seal the Premier League Asia Trophy title when they face Wolves in Shanghai on Saturday.
Pep Guardiola’s champions proved to be no match for the Hammers in Nanjing, running out 4-1 victors, while Nuno Santo’s men convincingly drubbed Newcastle United too.
With a mix of first-team favourites, up-and-coming young guns and club record signing Rodri among their ranks, City will be looking to seal a second title in the Far East following their success six years ago in 2013 against Sunderland.
But in their first foray into the tournament, can Wolves – looking for a top six breakthrough in 2019-20 – deliver an upset to seal some pre-season silverware?
| Game | Manchester City vs Wolves |
| Date | Saturday, July 17 |
| Time | 12:30pm BST / 7:30am ET |
TV Channel, Live Stream & How To Watch
In the United States (US), the game will not be broadcast.
| US TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| N/A | N/A |
In the United Kingdom (UK), the game will be broadcast on Sky Sports Premier League. It can be streamed via Sky Go.
| UK TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| Sky Sports Premier League | Sky Go |
Squads & Team News
| Position | Man City squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Bravo, Grimshaw, Bazunu |
| Defenders | Walker, Danilo, Stones, Zinchenko, Angelino, Laporte, Harwood-Bellis, Dionkou |
| Midfielders | Rodri, De Bruyne, Sane, B. Silva, D. Silva, Gundogan, Garcia, Pozo, Doyle, Bernabe, Knight |
| Forwards | Sterling, Nmecha, Touaizi, Bolton, Poveda |
Pep Guardiola has a host of Premier League winners to call upon, though he is indeed missing several of his typical first-choice XI.
That said, Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne will still provide plenty of creativity up front, meaning goals won’t exactly be at a premium for the champions.
| Position | Wolves squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Patricio, Ruddy, Norris |
| Defenders | Bennett, Boly, Otto, Coady, Vinagre, Francis, Kilman, Marques, Miranda, Sanderson |
| Midfielders | Neves, Dendoncker, Moutinho, Gibbs-White, Cundle, Perry, Taylor, Wan |
| Forwards | Jota, Traore, Corbeanu, Ennis, Samuels |
Having upset the odds in their first season back in the Premier League to qualify for Europe, Nuno Santo’s team will be jetting straight back for their Europa League second qualifying round clash with Crusaders after this game.
With the lure of continental football likely to prove an attractive prize this year, they could very well field a weaker team in this match so as to preserve their top talent for a more vital test next Thursday.
Betting & Match Odds
Manchester City can be backed at 2/5 to win this game with bet365. Wolves are priced as outsiders at 6/1 while a draw is available at 15/4.
Match Preview
Having swatted aside West Ham in Nanjing earlier this week, Manchester City’s relatively fraught preparations for their 2019 Premier League Asia Trophy campaign do not appear to have hindered them in the slightest as they look to impress in the Far East.
The champions, who battered the Hammers 4-1 to progress to this weekend’s final in Shanghai, saw their travel plans disrupted in the run-up to their arrival in China, where they kicked off a four-game tour of the region that will see them take in Hong Kong and Japan prior to a return to England for the Community Shield.
Pep Guardiola’s side also need to settle on a new skipper following Vincent Kompany’s departure after over a decade of service to become player-manager of Anderlecht.
David Silva is thought to be a frontrunner, while Kevin De Bruyne is also a contender, and the latter has admitted that it would be a great honour to wear the armband for the Citizens.
“If the team wants me to be captain I will gladly accept it,” he stated.
“But, I think everyone needs to talk about it as a team and as a club. It will be spoken about when everyone comes back.
“I think we need to do that together because it’s really important job not only on the pitch but off it.”
Wolves meanwhile emerged as one of the surprise packages of the 2018-19 season, holding their own against big sides and securing a Europa League spot in their first campaign back in the top flight.
They showed that form again to demolish Newcastle to reach the final in Shanghai this week and captain Conor Coady is determined that the Molineux club can push on from their incredible highs and is relishing the challenge they face.
“It’s all about improvement,” he noted. “We’ll look at the games where we struggled a bit last season and where we had to do different things in the game to win it and get better at it. Simple as that.
“But also to keep to that consistency in playing against the so-called bigger teams. We’re looking forward to it. It’s going to be even tougher this season, we know that, but we’re ready for it. We can’t wait to get started.”
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