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Man City predicted lineup vs Urawa Red Diamonds – FIFA Club World Cup

Manchester City face Asian champions Urawa Red Diamonds in the semi-final of the FIFA Club World Cup on Tuesday evening.

The treble winners have never come up against Urawa but Pep Guardiola has a history with the manager of the Japanese outfit. Polish boss Maciej Skorza has the unique distinction of inflicting the first defeat of Guardiola’s managerial career at senior level.

After one season in Spain’s third tier with Barcelona B, a 37-year-old Guardiola took charge of the Catalan giants in the summer of 2008. Guardiola’s debut in the Camp Nou dugout was a 4-0 win in a Champions League qualifier against Skorza’s Wisla Krakow. However, Barcelona lost the second leg in Poland two weeks later by a single goal. Guardiola’s side progressed at Krakow’s expense but Skorza had earned a historic victory nevertheless.

A decade and a half later, Guardiola has piled up every accolade available while Skorza has bounced between Poland, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and now Japan. With Skorza’s contract at Urawa up after the Club World Cup, it would be fitting for Guardiola to end the tenure of the first manager to ever get the better of him.

Here’s the City lineup Guardiola may deploy to get one over his inaugural conqueror.

Rodri - Soccer Player - Born 1996Rodri - Soccer Player - Born 1996

Rodri has not lost in a City shirt since February / Visionhaus/GettyImages

GK: Ederson – Fortunate to avoid a red card against Crystal Palace on the weekend, Ederson will have to be wary of his sweeping on Tuesday.

RB: Kyle Walker – City’s stand-in skipper has a very honest opinion on VAR. “I like it when it helps us out and I don’t like it when it doesn’t help us out,” he shrugged.

CB: John Stones – Likened to Diego Maradona by some of his teammates after his performance in the Champions League final, can Stones channel the Argentine maestro on the global stage?

CB: Ruben Dias – Enduring arguably the worst individual form of his City career, Dias has been routinely ragged at the back for the champions.

LB: Josko Gvardiol – Belatedly adapting to his surroundings, Gvardiol’s advanced positioning against Palace afforded Jack Grealish licence to drift infield.

CM: Mateo Kovacic – A Club World Cup winner with Real Madrid and Chelsea, this is just another Tuesday for Kovacic.

CM: Rodri – After bad results, Rodri can’t get any shuteye. “I go home and don’t sleep well,” he recently admitted. “I’m mad. I want to solve the situation.” Rodri may not have been able to get his head down on the flight to Saudi Arabia after City’s collapse against Palace.

AM: Phil Foden – If City are triumphant in the Kingdom, Foden will have won every major trophy at club level by the tender age of 23.

RW: Bernardo Silva – One John Stones will be with Bernardo in Saudi Arabia but he’ll have to leave another cherished companion by the same name at home in Manchester. Much to the defender’s bemusement, Bernardo has a dog called John Stones.

ST: Julian Alvarez – The former River Plate forward faced Japanese opposition on his only previous Club World Cup appearance, playing in a 4-0 win over Kashima Antlers to finish third in 2018.

LW: Jack Grealish – City’s record signing has scored as many goals across his last four appearances (three) as he managed over his previous 42 outings in sky blue.

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