Manchester City kick-off their defence of the Premier League title with a trip to face West Ham United at the London Stadium.
The Blues secured back-to-back triumphs in the most dramatic fashion on the final day of last season. After falling 2-0 down with 15 minutes to play against Aston villa, Ilkay Gundogan's brace, either side of Rodri's long range strike, handed Pep Guardiola his 11th trophy on English soil.
It also means City have won four of the last five Premier League's on offer — further reinforcing Guardiola's dominance. But, as usual, City have to dust themselves down and go again in the hope of retaining their crown for the third consecutive year.
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West Ham present a tough opening day task and City's only notable absentee for this fixture is Aymeric Laporte, who is still recovering from post-season knee surgery, The Spanish international will not be back in action until September.
It was perhaps a surprise to see Ederson play last Saturday. Guardiola normally lets the back-up goalkeeper play in the domestic cup competitions, but against a team like Liverpool, the manager needed his expertise on the ball — and that will not change this weekend. The Brazilian will continue his usual Premier League duties.
City have missed out on Marc Cucurella, but Joao Cancelo was always going to start the majority of games at left-back, with Kyle Walker his full-back partner on the right.
Centre-back may throw up a bit of a dilemma, with John Stones back and available for selection. However, Guardiola will likely trust the pairing of Ruben Dias and Nathan Aké to continue their blossoming pre-season partnership and start the season with a clean sheet.
The midfield trio is more simple. Kalvin Phillips is in line to make his City debut most likely from the bench, with Rodri to continue to hold the team together from deep. In front of him, Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva have formed a nice partnership and will want to support the front three the best they can.
One change in the front three from the Community Shield defeat could be Phil Foden. He was unable to come on the pre-season tour, but looked full of energy in his second half cameo. He will replace Jack Grealish, with Riyad Mahrez continuing his starting birth on the right.
Erling Haaland, of course, is all set to play his first Premier League game up front.
Predicted City line-up vs West Ham : Ederson; Walker, Dias, Aké, Cancelo; Rodri, De Bruyne, Silva; Foden, Haaland, Mahrez.
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