Manchester City v Inter Milan: New Season Begins in Hong Kong

Enzo Maresca’s first sight of Manchester City from the dugout will look nothing like the juggernaut that ended last season at Wembley. No Erling Haaland. No Rodri. No Jack Grealish. No World Cup-weary core that usually bends games to its will.

Instead, in the Hong Kong humidity, City’s new manager walks into a pre-season opener armed with a skeleton senior group and a swarm of academy hopefuls desperate to be noticed.

World Cup exertions have ripped the heart out of his squad for this tour. Erling Haaland, Marc Guéhi, Jérémy Doku, Rayan Cherki, Nico O’Reilly and new signing Elliot Anderson are all still on extended breaks. Rúben Dias, Matheus Nunes and Omar Marmoush are due to link up with the group later, so they will sit this one out as well.

The injury list adds another layer of complication. Rodri is recovering from minor back surgery, a rare but timely pause after his relentless workload. Jack Grealish is back in Manchester nursing a foot problem. Kalvin Phillips has stayed behind with a loan move looming, his City future effectively on hold. John Stones has already closed that chapter altogether, completing his move to Inter Milan.

So Maresca leans on what senior presence he has. Gianluigi Donnarumma is expected to start in goal, with Rico Lewis and Joško Gvardiol offering at least some familiar quality in the back line. Tijjani Reijnders, another key technical outlet, should feature, and Phil Foden will carry the creative responsibility and the armband of expectation.

Around them, it will be kids, energy, and uncertainty.

This is not the polished City that lifted the FA Cup with a 1-0 win over Chelsea before stumbling to a 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa on the final Premier League weekend. This is a stripped-back version, a trial run for Maresca’s ideas rather than a statement of power. With so many World Cup absentees and academy players filling the gaps, their current level is anyone’s guess.

That, in its own way, is the intrigue.

Chivu’s Inter arrive with momentum – and more experience

On the opposite bench, Cristian Chivu brings an Inter Milan side that, while also affected by summer schedules, looks more settled and seasoned.

They closed last season with authority, unbeaten in their final four domestic matches and crowned Coppa Italia winners after a 2-0 victory over Lazio. They have already dipped a toe into pre-season, opening with a 2-1 win over Karlsruher SC. The rhythm is there. The confidence is real.

Lautaro Martínez, their talisman and captain, is missing, still on holiday after his own extended World Cup run. Several other internationals are in the same boat. Inter, like City, are not at full tilt.

John Stones, freshly signed from City, will not face his former club just yet. His move is complete, but his pre-season is on pause as he finishes his break.

Chivu, though, still has a strong spine to lean on. Nicolò Barella brings drive and bite in midfield. Piotr Zieliński adds guile and control. Federico Dimarco offers width and quality on the left, while Yann Bisseck shores up the defence. Around that experienced core, Inter will roll out their own crop of academy products, including teenagers Leonardo Bovio, Jamal Iddrissou and Francesco Pio Esposito.

It is a blend that feels more balanced than City’s patchwork selection. Inter arrive with continuity, a trophy-winning base and at least one pre-season win already in the bank.

Predicted lineups: youth on show

Maresca is expected to line up with:

Manchester City: Donnarumma; Lewis, Reis, Khusanov, Ait-Nouri; Gonzalez; Savinho, Reijnders, Foden, Monga; Mubamba.

Chivu’s likely response:

Inter Milan: Martinez; Bisseck, Bovio, Augusto; Diouf, Barella, Zielinski, Stankovic, Dimarco; Iddrissou, Esposito.

Both XIs tell the same story: pre-season as laboratory. Established names holding the structure together while teenagers test themselves against elite opposition in an unforgiving climate.

For City’s youngsters, this is a rare stage. For Maresca, it is a first live look at who can handle his demands, his positional play, his insistence on control. For Inter, it is a chance to sharpen a side that already knows how to win under Chivu.

Where to watch

For viewers in the UK, the game will be shown exclusively online via Manchester City’s streaming service, CITY+.

A new manager, a new-look City, and an Inter side with momentum, all under the Hong Kong lights. For some of these youngsters, this won’t just be a friendly. It could be the day their City or Inter story truly begins.