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.
The Rossoneri have already made a few moves in the transfer market, most notably signing Alvaro Morata as Giroud's replacement, and it will be interesting to see how they shape up against Manchester City.
How the bookies view it: Manchester City good value at odds-against
If this was a competitive game then Manchester City would probably be odds-on but they're 21/20 at Bet365 after that friendly loss to Celtic. That looks worth a punt as I'd imagine Guardiola will field a stronger team for this one. AC Milan are 21/10 with the same firm and the draw pays 11/4.
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.
Players to watch: Oscar grinner for City
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. The Norwegian is 9/4 with Skybet for anytime scorer.
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. He's 10/3 with Paddy Power for anytime scorer.
Probable line-ups
It's hard second-guessing managers for pre-season friendlies and Guardiola fielded a pretty youthful side against Celtic. Alvarez definitely misses out for Manchester City as he's with Argentina at the Olympics but Kalvin Phillips could get some more game time in midfield.
Mike Maignan, Theo Hernandez, Tijjani Reijnders and Alvaro Morata are set to miss out for AC Milan.
Manchester City: Ortega, Lewis, Lewis, Doyle, Gvardiol, Kovacic, McAtee, Phillips, Bobb, Savinho, Haaland.
AC Milan: Sportiello; Calabria; Tomori, Thiaw, Terracciano; Bennacer, Loftus-Cheek; Chukweze, Leao, Saelemaekers; Colombo.
Anything else catch the eye?
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 are tiny at just 8/15 with Betfred after that thriller with Celtic. You have to go to over 3.5 goals to get decent odds and that pays 31/20 at Paddy Power.
With both managers setting up to attack, I also fancy over four first-half corners, a bet that pays 11/10 at Bet365.
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.
