Manchester City will return to action on Saturday when they take on Spanish side Girona at the Academy Stadium.
The team, which is likely going to be made up of first-team and youth players, will be looking to impress Pep Guardiola considering the return to competitive action is on Thursday night as City face Liverpool in the Carabao Cup.
A 19-man training squad went to Abu Dhabi this month to prepare themselves for the return of the regular season. Several first-team players including the Portuguese trio of Ruben Dias, Joao Cancelo and Bernardo Silva are unlikely to feature having recently returned from Qatar.
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The same goes for Brazil's Ederson, England's John Stones, Kyle Walker, Phil Foden, Kalvin Phillips, Jack Grealish and the Netherlands' Nathan Ake. Therefore, in goal you would expect to see Stefan Ortega start.
Ortega will likely be chosen to face Liverpool in just less than a week's time so this match is ideal to regain his match sharpness. In the back four, you would expect Rico Lewis and Sergio Gomez to start on either flank with both defenders also itching to face Jurgen Klopp's side.
Finley Burns has spent time on loan at Swansea City during his time with the Blues and you would imagine he is first choice among the training squad to face Girona. He is likely to be joined by Jadel Katongo who has been a regular in the Papa John's Trophy this campaign.
If Guardiola sticks with the 4-3-3 system, he may struggle to choose three midfielders from those who went to Abu Dhabi. Therefore alongside youngsters Kian Breckin and Shea Charles, it is possible we could see either Ilkay Gundogan or Kevin De Bruyne considering their early exits from the World Cup.
Gundogan may be more likely to start due to having a slightly less scarring time in Qatar but it would not be a shock to see De Bruyne start. Up front, it seems inevitable that Erling Haaland will return having had a month off.
Cole Palmer and Riyad Mahrez also seem to be strong contenders to face Liverpool on Thursday so Guardiola will be keen to see those two get minutes this weekend.
City XI vs Girona - Ortega; Lewis, Burns, Katongo, Gomez; Breckin, Charles, Gundogan; Mahrez, Haaland, Palmer
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