Man City lineup vs. Palermo: Predicted XI for pre-season friendly with Anglo-Palermitan Trophy up for grabs

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has plenty on his mind ahead of selecting his team for Saturday’s friendly fixture against Palermo at the Renzo Barbera Stadium in Sicily.

The Catalan coach has named a 22-man squad for the trip to Italy and as many as 10 players have been omitted, including Mateo Kovacic and Kalvin Phillips who are still recovering from Achilles surgery.

Summer signing and backup goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli is also absent due to injury, while Rodri, Phil Foden, Josko Gvardiol and Claudio Echeverri are all deemed not fully fit and will not travel to Sicily.

Jack Grealish, James McAtee and Stefan Ortega have all been left out amid speculation over their futures, while Vitor Reis has completed a loan move to Girona.

Nico O’Reilly missed Tuesday’s open training session due to a minor issue, but he has been named in Guardiola's travelling squad and could feature in some capacity, either as a makeshift left-back or in midfield.

Rico Lewis scored the only goal in a 1-0 behind-closed-doors friendly win over Preston North End last weekend and he is set to battle with Matheus Nunes for a start at right-back, while Ruben Dias, John Stones, Nathan Ake, Manuel Akanji and Abdukodir Khusanov are all centre-back options at Guardiola’s disposal.

Man City have made six signings so far this summer and four of those could be involved in some capacity on Saturday, with James Trafford, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki all in contention to feature.

Erling Haaland, the only Man City player to be nominated for the 2025 Ballon d’Or, is likely to be given a run-out up front, either from the start or as a substitute, while the like of Omar Marmoush Jeremy Doku, Savinho, Oscar Bobb and 17-year-old Divine Mukasa are also available to play in the final third.

Manchester City possible starting lineup: Trafford; Lewis, Stones, Dias, Ait-Nouri; Bernardo, Reijnders; Savinho, Cherki, Doku; Marmoush