Man City vs Sevilla – UEFA Super Cup: Pep Guardiola’s side eye their first trophy of the season in Athens as Phil Foden and Mateo Kovacic start in midfield
Follow Mail Sport’s live blog as Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City take on Sevilla in the UEFA Super Cup.
Host commentator
Both teams are being put through their paces out there now.
Kick off is in just under 30 minutes.
There are just under 30,000 inside the ground, with around 5,500 City supporters making the trip. I’m sure they’re enjoying the sunshine.
Remember this man, City fans?
Yes, that’s right – it’s Jesus Navas!
The now 37-year-old is still going strong at Sevilla, where he holds a legendary status. He departed City after Pep Guardiola’s first season with the club.
Navas lines up at right back this evening. Can his old side exploit those aging legs?
This is what’s at stake this evening! It’s a beauty…
What an opportunity this is for Cole Palmer tonight.
He scored that outrageous goal in City’s Community Shield defeat and delivered an impressive showing, and will be keen to continue progressing this season.
This is likely to be the biggest game of his club career so far and with several clubs eyeing him up this summer, this is also a chance for him to flourish in the spotlight again.
He has been given the nod ahead of Julian Alvarez, especially with Bernardo Silva out.
Starting XI: Bono, Navas, Bade, Gudelj, Acuna, Rakitic, Jordan, Ocampos, Oliver, Lamela, En Nesyri
Substitutes: Dmitrovic, Gattoni, Pedrosa, Montiel, Suso, Mir, Tecatito, Sow, Gomez, Juanlu, Salas, Bueno
I’m not sure about that denim combo for City, I have to say…
To answer our earlier rhetorical question, Aymeric Laporte is among the substitutes for City.
Phil Foden, who is facing a crucial season, and summer signing Mateo Kovacic both start in midfield, with the absence of Kevin De Bruyne perhaps looming large.
Jack Grealish and the tricky Cole Palmer will support Erling Haaland.
At the back, Josko Gvardiol will play alongside Manuel Akanji.
There is a potential game changer on the bench in the form of Julian Alvarez.
Starting XI: Ederson, Walker, Akanji, Gvardiol, Ake, Rodri, Kovacic, Foden, Palmer, Grealish, Haaland
Substitutes: Ortega, Carson, Dias, Phillips, Stones, Laporte, Alvarez, Gomez, Perrone, Bobb, Lewis, McAtee
We’ll start with this piece of big news from earlier today.
Mail Sport has reported that City have accepted an undisclosed bid from Al-Nassr for Aymeric Laporte, who is currently in Athens with his team-mates.
The club, part of the Saudi Pro League, have moved quickly to secure his signature and Laporte, who struggled for regular game time last season, is open to joining them.
It remains to be seen whether that forces him out of contention this evening.
Hello, all. Welcome along to our live coverage of tonight’s UEFA Super Cup.
Manchester City will look to lift the trophy for the very first time in their history, having finally won the Champions League last season after beating Inter Milan.
Their opponents, Sevilla, sealed their spot in Athens by triumphing over Roma in the Europa League final – something of a specialty for the club in recent years.
We’ll bring you live text commentary, including the team news and regular updates, right here, so don’t go anywhere!
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