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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has announced his starting XI for the UEFA Super Cup against Sevilla at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium in Athens on Wednesday, August 16, drawing a few eyebrows.
The reigning European treble winners are playing the Super Cup for the first time, having won their maiden UEFA Champions League last season. Meanwhile, reigning UEFA Europa League winners Sevilla are playing their fifth, winning the competition in 2005.
Guardiola's lineup for the game includes Ederson as goalkeeper; Kyle Walker, Manuel Akanji, Josko Gvardiol and Nathan Ake in defence. Rodri, Mateo Kovacic, Phil Foden, Cole Palmer, and Jack Grealish found their place in midfield, while Erling Haaland is the lone forward.
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One fan is bemused by the absence of Julian Alvarez, tweeting:
"No Alvarez? Not watching."
Another reckons:
"It's going to be a tough battle."
Here are some of the top Twitter reactions:
Defender Aymeric Laporte, who's reportedly on the cusp of joining Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr, was expectedly not named in the starting XI.
Manchester City's Rodri throws down gauntlet to Sevilla ahead of Super Cup clash
Manchester City are coming off a truly historic 2022-23 campaign, becoming only the second English team (Manchester United, 1998-99) to win the continental treble.
Midfielder Rodri, though, is not prepared to ease off ahead of the Super Cup clash with record Europa League winners Sevilla. Highlighting City's hunger to win more titles, the Spaniard said (as quoted by the BBC):
"We have to arrive with desire like we did our last finals. In the last finals we showed the level of hunger. We are always hungry and want to win every trophy. We were very disappointed when we lost to Arsenal (in the Community Shield)."
"This year we can break some records. For us, it is not so important but it is in our heads. Winning four leagues in a row would be massive. Every final, every title is important. The Super Cup is important to me because it is the first trophy I won as a player. We have another chance to put City on the European map again," Rodri added.
Manchester City opened their 2023-24 season with a defeat on penalties to Arsenal in the Community Shield. However, they launched their quest for an unprecedented Premier League four-peat with a 3-0 win at Burnley at the weekend.
