Enzo Maresca will take charge of his first competitive match as Manchester City this Sunday against Arsenal in the FA Community Shield clash in Cardiff. The FA Cup holders will take on last season’s Premier League champions at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff. Speaking ahead of the match, the Manchester City manager has revealed that he almost has a full squad to utilise against Mikel Arteta’s side.
Enzo Maresca has revealed that his squad is in good shape for Sunday’s match.
Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca faced the media today in his pre-game press conference ahead of this Sunday’s FA Community Shield clash with Arsenal. Maresca revealed that Ryan McAidoo is the only player who travelled to Asia who has an injury issue. The Italian manager added that the majority of his squad is fit although a selection of them had only begun training on Wednesday. Maresca explained: “The only one is Ryan McAidoo who in preseason had a small problem but he has already worked with us. So everyone is fit knowing that some of them just arrived two days ago.”
Erling Haaland did train for the majority of yesterday’s open training session with his Manchester City teammates. However, Haaland did sit out the latter stages of yesterday’s training session. Speaking on Haaland’s fitness, Maresca said: “Yes he was okay. He just had some small things behind his heels but he’s okay.”
Lastly, Enzo Maresca provided an update on Rodri’s condition. Manchester City’s midfield general had minor back surgery after leading Spain to World Cup glory this summer. When asked about Rodri’s condition, Maresca answered: “He’s now in rehab. When he’s ready to start training session with us, this is the problem for him.”
It remains to be seen if any of Manchester City’s late arrivals will start against Arsenal.
It would come as a major surprise if Enzo Maresca selected a full-strength starting lineup for the FA Community Shield fixture against Arsenal. Yes, the FA Community Shield match does have meaning. However, Manchester City’s opening Premier League fixture against Bournemouth at the Etihad Stadium is the more important fixture on the horizon. Based on this, it would seem unlikely that any City player that is under done or under a fitness cloud will be risked in Cardiff.
Enzo Maresca’s fitness update on his squad was predominantly positive. It now remains to be seen how Manchester City will lineup against Arsenal. The expectation would be that Maresca may trust the players who took part in Manchester City’s preseason tour of Asia to be given the opportunity to start on Sunday.