Manchester City and Juventus have confirmed their starting elevens for Saturday’s crucial Club World Cup Group G showdown at Camping World Stadium in Orlando. The match will decide who tops the group and advances to the quarter-finals, with both teams unbeaten in their opening games.
A major headline from the City camp is the return of Rodri to the starting lineup for the first time in over nine months. The Spanish midfielder, who suffered a serious ACL injury last September, had only featured as a substitute in City’s previous matches against Wydad AC and Al-Ain. Surprisingly, Pep Guardiola has opted to start him in such a high-stakes match, despite earlier suggestions that he would be eased back in slowly.
Rodri will be joined in midfield by Bernardo Silva and new signing Tijjani Reijnders, the 2024–25 Serie A Midfielder of the Season with AC Milan. Guardiola has rotated heavily, making seven changes from the team that hammered Al-Ain 6-0. Ederson returns in goal, replacing Stefan Ortega, and the backline features Ruben Dias, Manuel Akanji, Matheus Nunes, and Rayan Ait-Nouri.
Up front, Savinho, Jeremy Doku, and Omar Marmoush are preferred, with Erling Haaland and Ilkay Gundogan—who netted a brace last game—dropping to the bench. Claudio Echeverri is ruled out with an ankle injury, while stars like Phil Foden and John Stones also start among the substitutes.
On the Juventus side, manager Igor Tudor has made five changes from the team that defeated Wydad AC and Al-Ain convincingly. The most surprising omission is Kenan Yildiz, who has been in fine form with three goals in three games but is benched for this clash. He joins other rested names such as Randal Kolo Muani, Francisco Conceicao, Andrea Cambiaso, and Khephren Thuram on the bench.
Dusan Vlahovic leads the attack for the Bianconeri, partnered by Nicolas Gonzalez. In midfield, Weston McKennie, Teun Koopmeiners, and captain Manuel Locatelli return to action, while Filip Kostic and Alberto Costa occupy the wing-back positions.
The defensive trio remains unchanged, with Pierre Kalulu, Nicolo Savona, and Lloyd Kelly shielding goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio. The unchanged backline looks to maintain its solidity as Juve aims to upset the Premier League champions.
The confirmed lineups set the stage for a competitive encounter, with tactical decisions from both managers reflecting the importance of securing top spot in the group. Whether Rodri’s return proves pivotal or Juventus’s gamble to bench Yildiz pays off remains to be seen. The winner will advance to face a yet-to-be-determined opponent in the next round.