City welcome Championship side in lieu of Troyes fixture
By Akhil Prasad
City opened their pre-season account with a convincing 2-0 victory over Preston North End and Barnsley are up next for the Cityzens to take on.
After the club’s pre-season experienced a major setback – with the outbreak of Covid-19 cases at the academy camp & the cancellation of a trip to France to play ES Troyes AC, due to coronavirus restrictions – there is some positive news to look forward to.
Read. Manchester City face huge pre-season setbacks. light
Manchester City have confirmed they will stay back in England and welcome Barnsley to the Academy Stadium in a behind-closed-doors pre-season friendly on Saturday, July 31 – the same day they were scheduled to face Troyes.
Guardiola had only eight first-team members at his disposal against Preston North End, namely Nathan Ake, Joao Cancelo, Ruben Dias, Fernandinho, Benjamin Mendy, Riyad Mahrez, Scott Carson, and Zack Steffen.
Algerian star Mahrez opened the scoring with a sensational free-kick, before youngster Sam Edozie calmly slotted home the second from a close quarter.
A large chunk of youngsters made their presence in the starting line-up known. James McAtee, Sam Edozie, Ben Knight, Morgan Rogers, Cole Palmer, Iker Pozo, and some other talents were given playing minutes. Manchester City will now have the chance to feature more youngsters after rescheduling their fixture list to fit in Barnsley.
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The Championship side narrowly missed out on promotion last season as they fell short to Swansea City in the semi-final play-off. Nonetheless, they pose a tough test before the Sky Blues take on a major challenge in Leicester City in the FA Community Shield on August 7.
Speaking to mancity.com after the Preston game, Guardiola praised the team after recent setbacks, saying: “We have had to adapt. Most of the players from the second team were isolated for 10 days, so an incredible lack of preparation but they did really well.”
City fans can watch the live clash against Barnsley on CITY+, the club’s subscription platform which also streams Women’s and Academy matches throughout the football season.