Aiming to continue a successful start to their pre-season schedule, Manchester City meet Atletico Madrid at Seoul's World Cup Stadium on Sunday.

The European champions have beaten both opponents on their Asian tour so far, while Atletico lost to the K-League All-Stars earlier this week.

Match preview

Having secured victories over Yokohama F Marinos and Bayern Munich in their first two friendlies of the summer, Manchester City will now seek to finish their trip to Asia by posting a clean sweep of three wins from three.

Just days after coming out on top in an eight-goal thriller versus Yokohama in Tokyo, City were back in action on Wednesday, tackling one of the clubs they swept past en route to the Champions League trophy last term.

Though James McAtee saw his first-half opener cancelled out in the 81st minute by Bayern Munich's French forward Mathys Tel, a player reportedly bound for an Etihad exit produced the English side's late winner, as Aymeric Laporte struck with less than five minutes remaining.

Before taking on last season's Premier League runners-up Arsenal in the Community Shield next weekend, City must now wrap up their visit to Japan and South Korea against Atletico, ahead of a short block of training at home in Manchester.

The treble winners' top-flight opener then comes at Turf Moor, where club legend Vincent Kompany will be plotting his old team's downfall as Burnley boss.

His mentor Pep Guardiola will also be aiming to add the UEFA Super Cup to a bulging trophy cabinet next month, though his well-oiled City machine may be short of their best to begin with, given a late return to training after June's night of glory in Istanbul.

While Manchester City have been relatively quiet in the transfer market so far this summer - with ex-Real Madrid man Mateo Kovacic the headline arrival; Riyad Mahrez and Ilkay Gundogan both departing - Sunday's opponents are busy reshaping their squad for the season ahead.

Javi Galan, Caglar Soyuncu and Cesar Azpilicueta all arrived at the beginning of July, while Antoine Griezmann's loan deal was made permanent and Joao Felix returned from his loan spell at Chelsea.

There could be more to follow, as Los Colchoneros seek to improve on a 2022-23 campaign which saw them finish a distant third in La Liga and falter in Europe, although Diego Simeone cast aside doubts over his future to lead them through a more convincing second half of the season.

Ahead of Atletico's first competitive game of 2023-24, against Granada on August 14, they will play two more warm-up matches versus Real Sociedad and Sevilla, after taking on the European champions in Seoul.

The first fixture of their jaunt to South Korea ended in unsatisfactory fashion, as a K-League All-Stars squad stole victory from the jaws of defeat in Thursday's friendly: with stoppage time approaching, Atletico led 2-1 through goals from Thomas Lemar and Carlos Martin, yet they still contrived to lose 3-2.

Such sloppiness did not go down well with Simeone, who demands every ounce of effort and concentration from his charges no matter what the occasion, so an immediate response will be required this weekend.

Team News

Pep Guardiola's stated priority for Manchester City's pre-season tour is to escape without injuries, and so far the Premier League champions have managed to avoid any major concerns while in Asia.

Belgian playmaker Kevin De Bruyne is also back in contention, having completed his recovery from a hamstring tear sustained during the Champions League final.

Heavily linked with a switch to Wednesday's opponents Bayern Munich this summer, Kyle Walker has started as captain in both games so far and should do so again on Sunday - although versatile teenager Rico Lewis offers Guardiola an alternative.

Fellow young guns Maximo Perrone and James McAtee have also featured over the past week, and the latter may be given another chance to impress after scoring the opening goal against Bayern.

City's midfield fulcrum Rodri will hope to start against his former club, who are without two integral defenders again this weekend.

South American duo Nahuel Molina (calf) and Jose Maria Gimenez (shin) have been forced to miss Atletico Madrid's pre-season tour through injury, and both are likely to be unavailable for several weeks.

On Thursday, Axel Witsel started at centre-back in the absence of Gimenez, but summer signings Santiago Mourino and Caglar Soyuncu could be called up on this occasion; meanwhile, as speculation about a switch to Serie A rumbles on, Alvaro Morata is set to start up front.

Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:
Grbic; Azpilicueta, Savic, Soyuncu, Galan; Saul, De Paul, Koke, Lino; Griezmann, Morata

Manchester City possible starting lineup:
Ederson; Walker, Akanji, Laporte, Ake; Rodri, Kovacic; Silva, Foden, Grealish; Haaland

We say: Atletico Madrid 1-2 Manchester City

Although they have every right to be a little rusty following an epic ending to last season and a late return to training, Manchester City have already racked up seven goals on their Asian tour and can add more to that tally on Sunday. Atletico's defence may boast experience but could be vulnerable to City's combination of power and pace, so they are set to taste defeat once again.


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