YANKEE STADIUM is a fitting venue for this glamour friendly between Manchester City and AC Milan as two of European football’s biggest hitters slug it out.
Both teams are still in the early stages of pre-season, with both the Premier League and Serie A not kicking off until mid-August so they won’t be up to full speed. And that showed on Tuesday night as the English champions lost 4-3 to Celtic in a friendly that raged from end to end.
Manchester City have been the model of stability under Pep Guardiola, racking up four successive Premier League crowns, and it looks like the same group of players will be tasked with delivering another title.
Brazilian winger Savinho has been the only major signing so far this summer but it looks like key man Kevin De Bruyne will be staying, despite being heavily linked with a move to Saudi Arabai.
There has been more upheaval at Milan this summer, with Paulo Fonseca taking over from Stefano Pioli and long-serving striker Olivier Giroud moving on.
Head to head: Giants are unfamiliar foes
These sides have only faced off twice in competitive games and those UEFA Cup ties came 46 years ago. It was Manchester City who came out on top back in 1978, winning 3-0 at Maine Road after a 2-2 draw in Italy.
With Julian Alvarez on international duty at the Olympics, some fringe players will get the chance to impress in attack for City. Winger Oscar Bobb seized his chance against Celtic with a goal and two assists so I’d expect he will feature again. His pace will make him a threat to AC Milan.
Fonseca will want to take a look at the players he has inherited so he should give game-time to most of his squad here. Rafael Leao has been their creative spark in recent seasons and the Portuguese winger will fancy his chances against City’s defence.
It’s hard second-guessing managers for pre-season friendlies as they often give youngsters and fringe players a chance to shine. But Alvarez definitely misses out for Manchester City as he’s with Argentina at the Olympics.
Manchester City: Ortega, Lewis, Stones, Ake, Gvardiol, Kovacic, McAtee, Phillips, Bobb, Savinho, Haaland.
AC Milan: Maignan, Calabria, Florenzi, Kalulu, Gabbia, Loftus Cheek, Pobega, Reijnders, Leao, Pulisic, Jovic.
Friendlies can often be a disappointment but this should be a decent spectacle as Guardiola always asks his teams to attack and Fonseca is another progressive coach.
Manchester City always leave space for teams to hit them on the counter attack so I fancy BTTS in this one, although the odds will probably be short after that seven-goal thriller with Celtic. Adding over 2.5 goals to that should boost the odds once the bookies price up this game and over 3.5 strikes also stands a chance.
With Guardiola having a more settled side than Fonseca I’d imagine the Premier League champions will have too much class for AC Milan. Backing Manchester City to win the first half could be worth a look if the odds are decent and I also fancy them to score in both halves.
This European match between Manchester City and AC Milan will be played on
Jul 27, 2024 and kick off at 23:00. Check below for our tipsters best Manchester City vs AC Milan prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.