Man City team news: Predicted XI vs Man Utd as Guardiola turns to four academy graduates

Seventy-six days on from their FA Cup final defeat against Manchester United, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City return to Wembley for the Community Shield.

It’s a repeat of that final, which City lost to Erik ten Hag’s men – a victory that proved crucial in keeping the Dutchman in a job.

Guardiola will be out for revenge this afternoon, as the traditional curtain raiser pits the two Manchester giants against each other.

And ahead of today’s Community Shield clash, Express Sport have predicted how the Premier League champions might line up under the Wembley arch.

Goalkeeper: Ederson

Unlike fellow South American star Julian Alvarez, Ederson looks set to stay at City this summer, despite outside interest.

Saudi Arabian clubs had been said to be sniffing around the Brazil international, who missed this year’s Copa America because of an injury he’d picked up at the end of last season.

Stefan Ortega is City’s usual cup goalkeeper, but Guardiola revealed on Friday that Ederson would be given the gloves instead.

A ploy to keep him happy ahead of this month’s transfer deadline, perhaps?

Defenders: Gvardiol, Akanji, Dias, Lewis

One of City’s most stretched positions heading into the fixture, Guardiola was without most of his centre-back options throughout the pre-season tour of the States.

As a result, £50million flop Kalvin Phillips operated at the heart of defence, but considering a trophy is on the line, Guardiola will likely welcome back Manuel Akanji and Ruben Dias to the fold.

There will be more minutes in the legs of the players on either side, with Josko Gvardiol and Rico Lewis having featured heavily across pre-season.

Midfield: Kovacic, O’Reilly, McAtee

Without Rodri or Phil Foden, City’s midfield will be significantly weaker, with the bulk of it made up of academy graduates.

Nico O’Reilly emerged as a surprise standout from City’s pre-season tour, with Guardiola admitting the 19-year-old is capable of first-team minutes this season.

There was a similar show of faith for James McAtee, who is expected to be deployed as the number-10, with Kevin De Bruyne likely to watch on from the bench.

Acting as the glue in the youthful midfield trio will be Mateo Kovacic, who like compatriot Gvardiol, returned to City training midway through their pre-season tour.

Attack: Grealish, Haaland, Bobb

Perhaps the only certainty for today’s starting XI, all three of Jack Grealish, Erling Haaland and Oscar Bobb picked up plenty of minutes during the four pre-season fixtures.

While Haaland and Grealish both found the scoresheet, it was Bobb who stole the show Stateside, with the Norweigan youngster picking up five goal contributions in four warm-up matches.

Keep an eye out for City’s substitute bench though, with new signing Savinho poised to make his debut in the capital this afternoon.