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Aug 16, 2025 5.30pm
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Wolves vs. Man City confirmed lineups: Ait-Nouri, Reijnders, Cherki, Trafford, Arias decisions made for Premier League opener

Wolves vs. Man City confirmed XIs: Ait-Nouri, Reijnders, Cherki, Trafford decisions made

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has named three new signings in his starting lineup for their opening Premier League fixture of the 2025-26 season against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux this evening.

Goalkeeper Ederson has been left out of the Citizens squad amid reported interest from Galatasaray and that has opened the door for James Trafford - a £27m addition from Burnley - to make his full debut for the club between the sticks.

Rayan Ait-Nouri was signed from Wolves for around £31m in June and will start against his former club at left-back, joining John Stones, Ruben Dias and Rico Lewis in a four-man defence.

Tijjani Reijnders, who scored a brace in a 3-0 friendly win over Palermo last weekend, is handed his full Premier League debut in midfield alongside new captain Bernardo Silva and Nico Gonzalez.

Reijnders is likely to be the one who drifts further forward, linking up with wingers Oscar Bobb and Jeremy Doku who will provide support for central striker Erling Haaland, who has scored eight goals in just five appearances against Wolves.

Rayan Cherki, another summer signing, will begin as a substitute along with the likes of Ilkay Gundogan, Omar Marmoush and former Wolves man Matheus Nunes, but Phil Foden - who has been nursing a knock to his ankle - has been left out of the squad after Guardiola said at his pre-match press conference that he would travel to Molineux.

There is also no sign of Savinho, who is said to be nursing an injury at a time when Tottenham Hotspur expressed their desire to sign the winger.

Wolfe handed full debut, Arias, Lopez benched

As for Wolves, Vitor Pereira has named just one of his summer signings in his starting lineup, with David Moller Wolfe handed his Premier League debut at left wing-back.

Ki-Jana Hoever, who was on loan at Auxerre last season, will represents Wolves for the first time since March 2022 on the opposite flank, as Matt Doherty, Emmanuel Agbadou and Toti Gomes all start in central defence, protecting goalkeeper Jose Sa.

Joao Gomes and Andre will link arms in centre-midfield, while Marshall Munetsi and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde are set to operate further forward behind striker Jorgen Strand Larsen, who scored 14 Premier League goals last season.

New recruits Jhon Arias and Fer Lopez will both begin as substitutes along with the likes of Hwang Hee-Chan, Sasa Kalajdzic and Yerson Mosquera, who has recovered from a knee injury to make the bench.

Wolverhampton Wanderers starting lineup: Sa; Hoever, Doherty, Agbadou, Toti, Wolfe; Andre, J. Gomes; Munetsi, Bellegarde; Strand Larsen

Subs: Johnstone, H. Bueno, R. Gomes, S. Bueno, Mosquera, Lopez, Arias, Hwang, Kalajdzic

Manchester City starting lineup: Trafford; Lewis, Stones, Dias, Ait-Nouri; Gonzalez, Bernardo; Bobb, Reijnders, Doku; Haaland

Subs: Ortega, Ake, Marmoush, Cherki, Gundogan, Akanji, Nunes, O'Reilly, Khusanov

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