Man City To Play Barnsley In Second Pre-Season Friendly

After such a disrupted pre-season, it'll be a great relief to Pep Guardiola and the Manchester City backroom staff that they will have a chance to assess their squad for a second time on Saturday. 

His opponents, Barnsley, finished an impressive 5th place in the Championship last season before falling short in the play-off semi-final.

Markus Schopp's side have enjoyed a fantastic rise in the past few years.

Having only been promoted to England's second tier in the 2018/19 season, the South Yorkshire based outfit narrowly avoided relegation the following year.

After that, the club created a foundation for real progress, reaching the play-offs the following campaign with an impressive 78 points - eight points ahead of 7th place.

Praised for their attacking play, Barnsley will pose a great threat for a Manchester City side which will be mixed with returning first-team stars and academy talents.

Pep Guardiola's Manchester City team will take on Barnsley at the City Football Academy on Saturday 31st July, with kick-off scheduled for 6PM UK time.

Like with Preston on Tuesday night, the match will be held behind closed doors.

By Saturday, it's believed the likes of Ilkay Gundogan, Ruben Dias, Joao Cancelo and  Nathan Aké will be allowed to play more freely and complete longer periods of match action, with a couple of training sessions under their belt at the City Football Academy.

To start the season, after the pre-season opener against Preston North End on Tuesday night, Manchester City will face Leicester City in the annual Community Shield clash.

The week after that, the Blues travel to London to begin their Premier League title defence against Tottenham Hotspur.