Revealed: The 25-man Manchester City squad returning to first-team training this week ahead of Man United clash

A total of 25 first-team players were spotted in Pep Guardiola’s first-team training session on Tuesday, as Manchester City geared up for their FA Community Shield tie.

This Saturday brings about Pep Guardiola and his players’ first competitive contest of the brand new season, as they take on FA Cup winners Manchester United at Wembley Stadium in the traditional curtain-raiser to the top-level domestic campaign.

It will follow a challenging but certainly beneficial pre-season period for Manchester City as they returned to Manchester on Sunday morning following a three-week and four-game tour of the United States.

Three defeats and a dominant victory over Premier League rivals Chelsea attracted around 200,000 spectators across the four venues Stateside, in a jaunt that Pep Guardiola believes was more for commercial game as opposed to necessary fitness preparations.

There were plenty of positive performances to draw from the camp too, with the likes of Oscar Bobb, Nico O’Reilly, and James McAtee all excelling in their roles issued by Pep Guardiola, and now being expected to break into the first-team system this campaign.

Returning to full first-team training activities at the City Football Academy on Tuesday, Pep Guardiola had a 25-man Manchester City squad at his disposal, featuring a number of more familiar names following their respective returns from extended holidays this summer.

Goalkeepers: Ederson, Stefan Ortega Moreno, Scott Carson

Defenders: Issa Kabore, Joao Cancelo, Rico Lewis, Jadel Katongo, Stephen Mfuni, Ruben Dias, Manuel Akanji, Josko Gvardiol

Midfielders: Nico O’Reilly, Kalvin Phillips, Jacob Wright, Mateo Kovacic, Matheus Nunes, Maximo Perrone, Bernardo Silva, James McAtee, Kevin De Bruyne

Forwards: Savinho, Oscar Bobb, Erling Haaland, Jack Grealish, Jeremy Doku

Nathan Ake was among the first-team players to return to the CFA this week, but was absent from the session as he completed his own pre-season fitness testing within the Manchester City campus.

Among those to have left the pre-season first-team camp are Callum Doyle and Mahamadou Susoho, who have joined Norwich City and Peterborough United on season-long loan deals from the Etihad Stadium.

Further departures are expected in the coming days and weeks as Manchester City look to identify the best routes for their young stars to ensure continued development within the senior men’s game this campaign.