TODAY'S OPPONENTS MANCHESTER CITY
LAURI COX AND SAM LOUGHRAN REVIEW
TODAY’S OPPONENTS MANCHESTER CITY
GROUND NAME: The Etihad
CAPACITY: 55,097
NICKNAME: City
FUN FACT: Founded in 1880 as St. Mark’s, they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894.
US V THEM:
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Games won: ..................... 49 Games drawn: .................. 28 shop with our app
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Games lost: ...................... 51
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OPPONENTS
OPPONENTS 1 CLAUDIO BRAVO POSITION: GOALKEEPER Nationality: Chilean D.O.B: April 13 1983 Started playing with Colo-Colo and moved to Real Sociedad in 2006, appearing in 237 official games with the latter club. Signed by Barcelona in 2014, he won the treble in his first season. In the summer of 2016 he moved to Manchester City. Bravo is Chile’s most capped player of all time with over 100 appearances since his debut in 2004, and represented the nation in two World Cups and five Copa América. He captained his side to victory at the 2015 and 2016 editions of the latter tournament.
MANAGER:
PEP GUARDIOLA AFTER RETIRING AS A PLAYER, GUARDIOLA BECAME COACH OF BARCELONA B, AND SUCCEEDED FRANK RIJKAARD AS THE FIRST TEAM MANAGER. IN HIS FIRST SEASON AS MANAGER, GUARDIOLA GUIDED BARCELONA TO A TREBLE, WINNING LA LIGA, THE COPA DEL REY AND THE UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE. In doing so, he became the youngest manager to win the Champions League. The following season, Guardiola led Barcelona to win the Supercopa de España, the UEFA Super Cup, the FIFA Club World Cup and a second La Liga title. In 2011, after leading Barcelona to another La Liga, Supercopa de España and UEFA Champions League, Guardiola was awarded the Catalan Parliament’s Gold Medal, their highest honour. That same year, he was also named the FIFA World Coach of the Year. In Guardiola’s fourth season, he won the Copa del Rey, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup and the Supercopa de España. On 30 June 2012, Guardiola announced his departure from Barcelona, after winning 14 trophies in just four years in charge. Bayern Munich announced in January 2013 that Guardiola would join the club as manager for the 2013–14 season following the retirement of Jupp Heynckes. In his first season at the club, Guardiola won the Bundesliga, the DFB-Pokal, the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup. He finished his term at Bayern with seven trophies won, winning the Bundesliga all three seasons he was there, including two domestic doubles. As a manager, Guardiola won 14 trophies in the first four years of his managing career. This campaign is the first where he has not won silverware in his first campaign.
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3 BACARY SAGNA POSITION: DEFENDER Nationality: French DOB: February 14 1983
ONE TO WATCH
42 YAYA TOURE POSITION: MIDFIELDER NATIONALITY: IVORIAN DOB: MAY 13 1983 Touré began his playing career at Ivorian club ASEC Mimosas, where he made his debut aged 18. His performances attracted attention from Europe. Touré had stints with Beveren, Metalurh Donetsk, Olympiacos, and AS Monaco before moving to Barcelona in 2007. He played over 70 matches for the club and was part of the 2009 Barcelona side that won six trophies in a calendar year. In 2010 Touré moved to Manchester City, helping them earn their first league title in 44 years. Touré has over 100 caps for the Ivory Coast, representing the team at the 2006, 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cup tournaments. He also represented them in six Africa Cup of Nations in 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2015, helping them finish runner-up in 2006 and 2012, while captaining them to victory in 2015.
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Sagna began his career with Auxerre, turning professional in 2002 after four years with the club’s youth set-up. He moved to Arsenal in 2007 and made over 200 appearances for Arsene Wegner’s side. Joined Manchester City in 2014 after winning the FA Cup with Arsenal. He has 65 caps for France to date and has appeared in two World Cups and one UEFA European Championship.
4 VINCENT KOMPANY POSITION: DEFENDER Nationality: Belgian DOB: April 10 1986 In the 2011–12 season he was awarded the captaincy of Manchester City, leading his club to win the Premier League that season, their first league title in 44 years. He is also chairman of Belgium D3B Division club BX Brussels. Kompany began his professional career at Anderlecht, spending three years at the Belgian club before moving to German Bundesliga club Hamburg
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in 2006. In the summer of 2008, at the age of 22, he completed a transfer to his Manchester City. He was appointed captain in the 2011/12 season, leading his club to the Premier League title, their first in 44 years. Kompany has appeared for Belgium 70 times and scored four goals since his debut in 2004.
5 PABLO ZABALETA POSITION: DEFENDER Nationality: Argentine DOB: January 16 1985 Zabaleta began his career with San Lorenzo, turning professional in 2002 after five years with the club’s Academy. In 2005 he moved to Spain to join Espanyol, spending three years with the Barcelonabased club. In 2008 he signed for Manchester City and has made over 325 appearances for the club. Zabaleta has 58 Argentine caps and appeared at the 2014 World Cup.
6 FERNANDO POSITION: MIDFIELDER Nationality: Brazilian DOB: July 25 1987 Fernando began his career with Vila Nova in 2005, before signing for Porto in 2007. He spent his first year with the Portuguese giants on loan at Estrela, before returning to spend six more seasons, making 236 appearances and winning 12 competitions, before signing for Manchester City in 2014.
7 RAHEEM STERLING POSITION: MIDFIELDER Nationality: English DOB: December 8 1994 Sterling was born in Kingston, Jamaica and at five moved to London with his mother. He started his youth career with Queens Park Rangers in 2003, aged nine. At 16 he moved to Liverpool to join their youth ranks,
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before turning professional in 2012. He spent three senior years with the club before joining Manchester City in 2015. He has 29 England caps to date, including in the 2014 World Cup, and has scored twice.
9 NOLITO POSITION: FORWARD Nationality: Spanish DOB: October 15 1986 Having begun his career in the lower reaches of the Spanish leagues, he signed for Barcelona’s B side in 2008, making over 100 appearances. He did make two appearances for Barcelona’s first team but left soon after to join Benfica in 2011. He joined Celta Vigo in 2013 where he averaged a goal every two-and-a-half games, before signing for Manchester City in 2016. He has scored six goals for Spain in his 16 caps to date.
10. SERGIO AGÜERO POSITION: STRIKER Nationality: Argentinian DOB: June 2 1988 In 2006, Agüero moved to Europe to play for Atlético Madrid. He made a name for himself, attracting attention from Europe’s top clubs when scoring 101 goals in 234 appearances while winning the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Super Cup in 2010. Agüero moved to Premier League club Manchester City in July 2011 for an undisclosed fee thought to be in the region of £35 million. On the last day of his debut season with the club, Agüero scored a 94th-minute winner against Queens Park Rangers that earned City its first league title in 44 years. At the end of the 2014–15 season, of players who had played at least two seasons in the Premier League, Agüero had the highest goals per minute ratio in the history of the competition since its formation in 1992, averaging a goal every 109 minutes. He also holds
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OPPONENTS the joint-record for the most goals scored in a single Premier League match – five – and the fastest to do so, in 23 minutes and 34 seconds of match time. He is the highest South American scorer in the history of the Premier League, and reached 100 goals in the division faster than any player other than Alan Shearer.
11 ALEKSANDER KOLAROV POSITION: DEFENDER Nationality: Serbian DOB: November 10 1985 Kolarov began his career at Red Star Belgrade, but he did not break through and moved onto Čukarički in 2004. Two years later, he joined OFK Beograd before moving abroad for the first time by signing for Lazio in Serie A, where he won the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana in 2009. In 2010, he joined Manchester City, with which he has won two Premier League titles, the FA Cup
and the League Cup. He made his senior international debut for Serbia in 2008 and has since earned over 50 caps and was a member of Serbia’s squads for the 2008 Olympics and the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
13 WILLY CABALLERO POSITION: GOALKEEPER Nationality: Argentine DOB: September 28 1981 Caballero spent most of his career in Spain, representing Elche and Málaga and competing in La Liga with the latter. In the summer of 2014, he signed for Manchester City, and has represented Argentina U21s.
15 JESUS NAVAS POSITION: MIDFIELDER Nationality: Spanish DOB: November 21 1985 Navas started his career with Sevilla in 2003, spending 10 years with the
club, making 393 appearances and winning six trophies, including two UEFA Cup and two Copa Del Rey’s. He signed for Manchester City in 2013 and won the Premier League and League Cup in his first season in English football. Navas has 35 Spanish caps and has scored three goals.
17 KEVIN DE BRUYNE POSITION: MIDFIELDER Nationality: Belgian DOB: June 28 1991 De Bruyne began his career at Genk, where he was a regular player when they won the 2010/11 Belgian Pro League. In 2012 he joined Chelsea, where he was used sparingly and then loaned to Werder Bremen. He signed with Wolfsburg in 2014, and in 2015 he was named Footballer of the Year in Germany. Later that year, he joined Manchester City for a reported club record £55 million.
18 FABIAN DELPH POSITION: MIDFIELDER Nationality: English DOB: November 21 1989 He was on the books of Bradford City as a youngster until he moved to Leeds United aged 11. Having played 45 games for Leeds at League One level and once in the Championship, he transferred to Aston Villa, then in the Premier League, in August 2009. In 2012, he returned to Leeds for a short loan spell. Delph had a successful start to the 2012/13 Premier League season, leading Villa manager Paul Lambert to call for his inclusion in the England squad. In July 2015, Delph joined Manchester City.
19 LEROY SANE POSITION: MIDFIELDER Nationality: Belgian DOB: January 11 1996 Sane joined Schalke’s Academy in 2005, before moving to Bayer Leverkusen as a 12-year-old in 2008. Three years later he returned to Schalke and turned professional in 2014. After 57 appearances in two years, he signed for Manchester City in August 2016. He represented Germany at U19 and U21 level before making his senior debut in 2015.
21 DAVID SILVA POSITION: MIDFIELDER Nationality: Spanish DOB: January 8 1986 Silva spent six years of his professional career with Valencia CF, appearing in more than 150 games and winning one Copa del Rey in 2008, before moving in the summer of 2010 to join Manchester City. Since joining City, Silva has appeared in over 250 matches and is in his seventh season at the club. He has won the FA Cup, two Football League Cups and two Premier League titles. A Spanish
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international since the age of 20, he is one of 11 Spanish players to have amassed 100 caps and was an integral member of the squads that won three consecutive international tournaments — UEFA Euro 2008, the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and UEFA Euro 2012.
22 GAEL CLICHY POSITION: DEFENDER Nationality: French DOB: July 26 1985 Clichy was born in the city of Toulouse and began his football career playing for a host of amateur clubs in the Haute-Garonne département including JS Cugnaux, AS Muret, and Tournefeuille. In 2001, he moved to the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region to play for professional club Cannes. Clichy made his professional debut for the club in the 2002–03 season while it was playing in the Championnat National, the third level of French football. After three seasons with Cannes he was convinced by manager and countryman Arsène Wenger to join Arsenal, before moving to City.
24 JOHN STONES POSITION: DEFENDER Nationality: English DOB: May 28 1994 Stones began his career with Barnsley, making his first team debut in the Championship in March 2012 as a 17-year-old. He joined Everton in January 2013 and amassed 95 appearances for the Merseyside club over four seasons. In August 2016, he signed for Manchester City when he became the second most expensive defender in history behind David Luiz.
25 FERNANDINHO POSITION: MIDFIELDER Nationality: Brazilian DOB: May 4 1985
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Fernandinho started his career at Brazilian club Atlético Paranaense before moving to Shakhtar Donetsk in 2005. With Shakhtar, he won six Ukrainian Premier League titles, four Ukrainian Cups and the 2008–09 UEFA Cup. He was voted by the Shakhtar Donetsk fans as the best Brazilian player to ever play for the team. The scorer of the only goal in the final of the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship and a full international for Brazil since 2011, he was part of their squad which came fourth at the 2014 FIFA World Cup and also competed at the 2015 Copa América.
30 NICOLAS OTAMENDI POSITION: DEFENDER Nationality: Argentine DOB: February 12 1988 In his professional career he played mainly for Vélez Sarsfield and Porto, winning eight major titles with the second including three national championships and the 2011 Europa League. An Argentinian international since 2009, Otamendi represented the country at the 2010 World Cup and two Copa América, helping them to consecutive runner-up finishes.
53 TOSIN ADARABIOYO POSITION: DEFENDER Nationality: English DOB: September 24 1997 Adarabioyo joined the youth system at Manchester City aged five. He made his U18 debut for the club aged 14 and was captaining the U18s aged 16. On February 21st 2016, Adarabioyo made his first-team debut in an FA Cup match against Chelsea, before making his Champions League debut on August 24th 2016, as a substitute in a 1–0 win over Steaua Bucuresti, in a Champions League play-off round match.
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OPPONENTS 54 ANGUS GUNN POSITION: GOALKEEPER Nationality: English DOB: January 22 1996 Son of former Norwich goalkeeper Bryan, Gunn turned professional with Manchester City in 2013 and went on to win his first England U21 cap in the 2015/16 campaign. The goalkeeper has appeared on the bench for the first team on several occasions this season.
55 BRAHIM DIAZ POSITION: MIDFIELDER Nationality: Spanish DOB: August 3 1999 Diaz began his career with his hometown club Malaga, joining Manchester City in 2015 as a 16-year-old. Made his first team
DID YOU KNOW? Manchester City hold the record for highest home attendance by an English club. They packed 84,569 fans into Maine Road for their game against Stoke City in 1934. In 1937-38, they managed to become the only club ever to be relegated with a positive goal difference.
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72 KELECHI IHEANACHO POSITION: FORWARD Nationality: Nigerian DOB: October 3 1996 Iheanacho joined Manchester City’s youth Academy in 2014 and signed professional terms in 2015. He recently surpassed 50 appearances for the club and is averaging a goal every two-and-a-half games. He has represented Nigerian at U17 and U20 level and made his senior debut in 2015, scoring four goals in his seven appearances so far.
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concede a hundred goals in the same season. Manchester City is one of four clubs that are part of the City Football Group. City have an affiliation with Melbourne City, Yokohama F. Marinos and New York City.
City won the old European-Cup Winners Cup in 1970 under Joe Mercer, who later became City’s most memorable and successful manager.
City adopted a red and black away kit colour in the 1960s after former assistant manager Malcolm Allison felt adopting the colours of AC Milan would inspire them to glory. The theory worked, as they won the 1969 FA Cup, 1970 League Cup and 1970 European Cup Winners’ Cup in red and black stripes.
Manchester City scored over a hundred goals in 1957/58, only to
On occasion, when Manchester City have reached a major cup final,
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Peter Beagrie, Mark Brennan, Matty Busby (Boro Wartime Guest), Joe Cassidy, Adam Clayton, Barry Conlon (Boro trialist), Johnny Crossan, Andy Dibble, Shay Given, Verdi Godwin (Boro Reserve), Allan
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POSITION: MIDFIELDER Nationality: Spanish DOB: June 28 1997 Defensive midfielder Garcia joined Manchester City’s Academy in 2015 from Villarreal, and made his first team debut in the FA Cup against Chelsea in February 2016. He has represented Spain at U16, U17, U18 and U19 level.
77 CAMERON HUMPHREYS-GRANT POSITION: DEFENDER Nationality: English DOB: August 22 1998 Humphreys-Grant is a graduate of the City Academy. He signed his first professional contract in August 2015 and made his debut in an FA Cup tie with Aston Villa the following January.
the club have opted to ditch the normal club badge and instead have shirts bearing the badge of arms of the city of Manchester as a symbol of pride. On only 10 occasions in Boro’s history have five different players scored in a single game in the top flight. Two of these have been against Manchester City. Back in October 1903, Bobby Atherton, Len Goodson, Dave Smith, Joe Cassidy and Sandy Brown scored in a 6-0 home win. Then in the final game of the 2007/08 season an Alves hat-trick, a brace from Stewart Downing and goals from Adam Johnson, Fabio Rochemback and Jeremie Aliadiere saw Boro thump City by 8 goals to 1.
Hall, Adam Johnson, Alan Kernaghan, Chris Killen,
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debut in September 2016 in an EFL Cup tie against Swansea City, and signed his first professional contract the following week.
Bill Linacre, Ishmael Miller, Danny Mills, Carlo Nash, Alvaro Negredo, Alex Nimely, Jamie Pollock, Uwe Rosler (Boro trialist), Paul Sugrue, Alf Wood, Bruno Zuculini.
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TODAY’S OPPONENTS MANCHESTER CITY
GROUND NAME: The Etihad
CAPACITY: 55,097
NICKNAME: City
FUN FACT: Founded in 1880 as St. Mark’s, they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894.
US V THEM:
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Games won: ..................... 49 Games drawn: .................. 28 shop with our app
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Games lost: ...................... 51
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OPPONENTS
OPPONENTS 1 CLAUDIO BRAVO POSITION: GOALKEEPER Nationality: Chilean D.O.B: April 13 1983 Started playing with Colo-Colo and moved to Real Sociedad in 2006, appearing in 237 official games with the latter club. Signed by Barcelona in 2014, he won the treble in his first season. In the summer of 2016 he moved to Manchester City. Bravo is Chile’s most capped player of all time with over 100 appearances since his debut in 2004, and represented the nation in two World Cups and five Copa América. He captained his side to victory at the 2015 and 2016 editions of the latter tournament.
MANAGER:
PEP GUARDIOLA AFTER RETIRING AS A PLAYER, GUARDIOLA BECAME COACH OF BARCELONA B, AND SUCCEEDED FRANK RIJKAARD AS THE FIRST TEAM MANAGER. IN HIS FIRST SEASON AS MANAGER, GUARDIOLA GUIDED BARCELONA TO A TREBLE, WINNING LA LIGA, THE COPA DEL REY AND THE UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE. In doing so, he became the youngest manager to win the Champions League. The following season, Guardiola led Barcelona to win the Supercopa de España, the UEFA Super Cup, the FIFA Club World Cup and a second La Liga title. In 2011, after leading Barcelona to another La Liga, Supercopa de España and UEFA Champions League, Guardiola was awarded the Catalan Parliament’s Gold Medal, their highest honour. That same year, he was also named the FIFA World Coach of the Year. In Guardiola’s fourth season, he won the Copa del Rey, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup and the Supercopa de España. On 30 June 2012, Guardiola announced his departure from Barcelona, after winning 14 trophies in just four years in charge. Bayern Munich announced in January 2013 that Guardiola would join the club as manager for the 2013–14 season following the retirement of Jupp Heynckes. In his first season at the club, Guardiola won the Bundesliga, the DFB-Pokal, the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup. He finished his term at Bayern with seven trophies won, winning the Bundesliga all three seasons he was there, including two domestic doubles. As a manager, Guardiola won 14 trophies in the first four years of his managing career. This campaign is the first where he has not won silverware in his first campaign.
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3 BACARY SAGNA POSITION: DEFENDER Nationality: French DOB: February 14 1983
ONE TO WATCH
42 YAYA TOURE POSITION: MIDFIELDER NATIONALITY: IVORIAN DOB: MAY 13 1983 Touré began his playing career at Ivorian club ASEC Mimosas, where he made his debut aged 18. His performances attracted attention from Europe. Touré had stints with Beveren, Metalurh Donetsk, Olympiacos, and AS Monaco before moving to Barcelona in 2007. He played over 70 matches for the club and was part of the 2009 Barcelona side that won six trophies in a calendar year. In 2010 Touré moved to Manchester City, helping them earn their first league title in 44 years. Touré has over 100 caps for the Ivory Coast, representing the team at the 2006, 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cup tournaments. He also represented them in six Africa Cup of Nations in 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2015, helping them finish runner-up in 2006 and 2012, while captaining them to victory in 2015.
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Sagna began his career with Auxerre, turning professional in 2002 after four years with the club’s youth set-up. He moved to Arsenal in 2007 and made over 200 appearances for Arsene Wegner’s side. Joined Manchester City in 2014 after winning the FA Cup with Arsenal. He has 65 caps for France to date and has appeared in two World Cups and one UEFA European Championship.
4 VINCENT KOMPANY POSITION: DEFENDER Nationality: Belgian DOB: April 10 1986 In the 2011–12 season he was awarded the captaincy of Manchester City, leading his club to win the Premier League that season, their first league title in 44 years. He is also chairman of Belgium D3B Division club BX Brussels. Kompany began his professional career at Anderlecht, spending three years at the Belgian club before moving to German Bundesliga club Hamburg
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in 2006. In the summer of 2008, at the age of 22, he completed a transfer to his Manchester City. He was appointed captain in the 2011/12 season, leading his club to the Premier League title, their first in 44 years. Kompany has appeared for Belgium 70 times and scored four goals since his debut in 2004.
5 PABLO ZABALETA POSITION: DEFENDER Nationality: Argentine DOB: January 16 1985 Zabaleta began his career with San Lorenzo, turning professional in 2002 after five years with the club’s Academy. In 2005 he moved to Spain to join Espanyol, spending three years with the Barcelonabased club. In 2008 he signed for Manchester City and has made over 325 appearances for the club. Zabaleta has 58 Argentine caps and appeared at the 2014 World Cup.
6 FERNANDO POSITION: MIDFIELDER Nationality: Brazilian DOB: July 25 1987 Fernando began his career with Vila Nova in 2005, before signing for Porto in 2007. He spent his first year with the Portuguese giants on loan at Estrela, before returning to spend six more seasons, making 236 appearances and winning 12 competitions, before signing for Manchester City in 2014.
7 RAHEEM STERLING POSITION: MIDFIELDER Nationality: English DOB: December 8 1994 Sterling was born in Kingston, Jamaica and at five moved to London with his mother. He started his youth career with Queens Park Rangers in 2003, aged nine. At 16 he moved to Liverpool to join their youth ranks,
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before turning professional in 2012. He spent three senior years with the club before joining Manchester City in 2015. He has 29 England caps to date, including in the 2014 World Cup, and has scored twice.
9 NOLITO POSITION: FORWARD Nationality: Spanish DOB: October 15 1986 Having begun his career in the lower reaches of the Spanish leagues, he signed for Barcelona’s B side in 2008, making over 100 appearances. He did make two appearances for Barcelona’s first team but left soon after to join Benfica in 2011. He joined Celta Vigo in 2013 where he averaged a goal every two-and-a-half games, before signing for Manchester City in 2016. He has scored six goals for Spain in his 16 caps to date.
10. SERGIO AGÜERO POSITION: STRIKER Nationality: Argentinian DOB: June 2 1988 In 2006, Agüero moved to Europe to play for Atlético Madrid. He made a name for himself, attracting attention from Europe’s top clubs when scoring 101 goals in 234 appearances while winning the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Super Cup in 2010. Agüero moved to Premier League club Manchester City in July 2011 for an undisclosed fee thought to be in the region of £35 million. On the last day of his debut season with the club, Agüero scored a 94th-minute winner against Queens Park Rangers that earned City its first league title in 44 years. At the end of the 2014–15 season, of players who had played at least two seasons in the Premier League, Agüero had the highest goals per minute ratio in the history of the competition since its formation in 1992, averaging a goal every 109 minutes. He also holds
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OPPONENTS the joint-record for the most goals scored in a single Premier League match – five – and the fastest to do so, in 23 minutes and 34 seconds of match time. He is the highest South American scorer in the history of the Premier League, and reached 100 goals in the division faster than any player other than Alan Shearer.
11 ALEKSANDER KOLAROV POSITION: DEFENDER Nationality: Serbian DOB: November 10 1985 Kolarov began his career at Red Star Belgrade, but he did not break through and moved onto Čukarički in 2004. Two years later, he joined OFK Beograd before moving abroad for the first time by signing for Lazio in Serie A, where he won the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana in 2009. In 2010, he joined Manchester City, with which he has won two Premier League titles, the FA Cup
and the League Cup. He made his senior international debut for Serbia in 2008 and has since earned over 50 caps and was a member of Serbia’s squads for the 2008 Olympics and the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
13 WILLY CABALLERO POSITION: GOALKEEPER Nationality: Argentine DOB: September 28 1981 Caballero spent most of his career in Spain, representing Elche and Málaga and competing in La Liga with the latter. In the summer of 2014, he signed for Manchester City, and has represented Argentina U21s.
15 JESUS NAVAS POSITION: MIDFIELDER Nationality: Spanish DOB: November 21 1985 Navas started his career with Sevilla in 2003, spending 10 years with the
club, making 393 appearances and winning six trophies, including two UEFA Cup and two Copa Del Rey’s. He signed for Manchester City in 2013 and won the Premier League and League Cup in his first season in English football. Navas has 35 Spanish caps and has scored three goals.
17 KEVIN DE BRUYNE POSITION: MIDFIELDER Nationality: Belgian DOB: June 28 1991 De Bruyne began his career at Genk, where he was a regular player when they won the 2010/11 Belgian Pro League. In 2012 he joined Chelsea, where he was used sparingly and then loaned to Werder Bremen. He signed with Wolfsburg in 2014, and in 2015 he was named Footballer of the Year in Germany. Later that year, he joined Manchester City for a reported club record £55 million.
18 FABIAN DELPH POSITION: MIDFIELDER Nationality: English DOB: November 21 1989 He was on the books of Bradford City as a youngster until he moved to Leeds United aged 11. Having played 45 games for Leeds at League One level and once in the Championship, he transferred to Aston Villa, then in the Premier League, in August 2009. In 2012, he returned to Leeds for a short loan spell. Delph had a successful start to the 2012/13 Premier League season, leading Villa manager Paul Lambert to call for his inclusion in the England squad. In July 2015, Delph joined Manchester City.
19 LEROY SANE POSITION: MIDFIELDER Nationality: Belgian DOB: January 11 1996 Sane joined Schalke’s Academy in 2005, before moving to Bayer Leverkusen as a 12-year-old in 2008. Three years later he returned to Schalke and turned professional in 2014. After 57 appearances in two years, he signed for Manchester City in August 2016. He represented Germany at U19 and U21 level before making his senior debut in 2015.
21 DAVID SILVA POSITION: MIDFIELDER Nationality: Spanish DOB: January 8 1986 Silva spent six years of his professional career with Valencia CF, appearing in more than 150 games and winning one Copa del Rey in 2008, before moving in the summer of 2010 to join Manchester City. Since joining City, Silva has appeared in over 250 matches and is in his seventh season at the club. He has won the FA Cup, two Football League Cups and two Premier League titles. A Spanish
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international since the age of 20, he is one of 11 Spanish players to have amassed 100 caps and was an integral member of the squads that won three consecutive international tournaments — UEFA Euro 2008, the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and UEFA Euro 2012.
22 GAEL CLICHY POSITION: DEFENDER Nationality: French DOB: July 26 1985 Clichy was born in the city of Toulouse and began his football career playing for a host of amateur clubs in the Haute-Garonne département including JS Cugnaux, AS Muret, and Tournefeuille. In 2001, he moved to the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region to play for professional club Cannes. Clichy made his professional debut for the club in the 2002–03 season while it was playing in the Championnat National, the third level of French football. After three seasons with Cannes he was convinced by manager and countryman Arsène Wenger to join Arsenal, before moving to City.
24 JOHN STONES POSITION: DEFENDER Nationality: English DOB: May 28 1994 Stones began his career with Barnsley, making his first team debut in the Championship in March 2012 as a 17-year-old. He joined Everton in January 2013 and amassed 95 appearances for the Merseyside club over four seasons. In August 2016, he signed for Manchester City when he became the second most expensive defender in history behind David Luiz.
25 FERNANDINHO POSITION: MIDFIELDER Nationality: Brazilian DOB: May 4 1985
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Fernandinho started his career at Brazilian club Atlético Paranaense before moving to Shakhtar Donetsk in 2005. With Shakhtar, he won six Ukrainian Premier League titles, four Ukrainian Cups and the 2008–09 UEFA Cup. He was voted by the Shakhtar Donetsk fans as the best Brazilian player to ever play for the team. The scorer of the only goal in the final of the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship and a full international for Brazil since 2011, he was part of their squad which came fourth at the 2014 FIFA World Cup and also competed at the 2015 Copa América.
30 NICOLAS OTAMENDI POSITION: DEFENDER Nationality: Argentine DOB: February 12 1988 In his professional career he played mainly for Vélez Sarsfield and Porto, winning eight major titles with the second including three national championships and the 2011 Europa League. An Argentinian international since 2009, Otamendi represented the country at the 2010 World Cup and two Copa América, helping them to consecutive runner-up finishes.
53 TOSIN ADARABIOYO POSITION: DEFENDER Nationality: English DOB: September 24 1997 Adarabioyo joined the youth system at Manchester City aged five. He made his U18 debut for the club aged 14 and was captaining the U18s aged 16. On February 21st 2016, Adarabioyo made his first-team debut in an FA Cup match against Chelsea, before making his Champions League debut on August 24th 2016, as a substitute in a 1–0 win over Steaua Bucuresti, in a Champions League play-off round match.
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OPPONENTS 54 ANGUS GUNN POSITION: GOALKEEPER Nationality: English DOB: January 22 1996 Son of former Norwich goalkeeper Bryan, Gunn turned professional with Manchester City in 2013 and went on to win his first England U21 cap in the 2015/16 campaign. The goalkeeper has appeared on the bench for the first team on several occasions this season.
55 BRAHIM DIAZ POSITION: MIDFIELDER Nationality: Spanish DOB: August 3 1999 Diaz began his career with his hometown club Malaga, joining Manchester City in 2015 as a 16-year-old. Made his first team
DID YOU KNOW? Manchester City hold the record for highest home attendance by an English club. They packed 84,569 fans into Maine Road for their game against Stoke City in 1934. In 1937-38, they managed to become the only club ever to be relegated with a positive goal difference.
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LINTH ORPE ROAD, MIDDLESBROUGH
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72 KELECHI IHEANACHO POSITION: FORWARD Nationality: Nigerian DOB: October 3 1996 Iheanacho joined Manchester City’s youth Academy in 2014 and signed professional terms in 2015. He recently surpassed 50 appearances for the club and is averaging a goal every two-and-a-half games. He has represented Nigerian at U17 and U20 level and made his senior debut in 2015, scoring four goals in his seven appearances so far.
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concede a hundred goals in the same season. Manchester City is one of four clubs that are part of the City Football Group. City have an affiliation with Melbourne City, Yokohama F. Marinos and New York City.
City won the old European-Cup Winners Cup in 1970 under Joe Mercer, who later became City’s most memorable and successful manager.
City adopted a red and black away kit colour in the 1960s after former assistant manager Malcolm Allison felt adopting the colours of AC Milan would inspire them to glory. The theory worked, as they won the 1969 FA Cup, 1970 League Cup and 1970 European Cup Winners’ Cup in red and black stripes.
Manchester City scored over a hundred goals in 1957/58, only to
On occasion, when Manchester City have reached a major cup final,
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Peter Beagrie, Mark Brennan, Matty Busby (Boro Wartime Guest), Joe Cassidy, Adam Clayton, Barry Conlon (Boro trialist), Johnny Crossan, Andy Dibble, Shay Given, Verdi Godwin (Boro Reserve), Allan
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POSITION: MIDFIELDER Nationality: Spanish DOB: June 28 1997 Defensive midfielder Garcia joined Manchester City’s Academy in 2015 from Villarreal, and made his first team debut in the FA Cup against Chelsea in February 2016. He has represented Spain at U16, U17, U18 and U19 level.
77 CAMERON HUMPHREYS-GRANT POSITION: DEFENDER Nationality: English DOB: August 22 1998 Humphreys-Grant is a graduate of the City Academy. He signed his first professional contract in August 2015 and made his debut in an FA Cup tie with Aston Villa the following January.
the club have opted to ditch the normal club badge and instead have shirts bearing the badge of arms of the city of Manchester as a symbol of pride. On only 10 occasions in Boro’s history have five different players scored in a single game in the top flight. Two of these have been against Manchester City. Back in October 1903, Bobby Atherton, Len Goodson, Dave Smith, Joe Cassidy and Sandy Brown scored in a 6-0 home win. Then in the final game of the 2007/08 season an Alves hat-trick, a brace from Stewart Downing and goals from Adam Johnson, Fabio Rochemback and Jeremie Aliadiere saw Boro thump City by 8 goals to 1.
Hall, Adam Johnson, Alan Kernaghan, Chris Killen,
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debut in September 2016 in an EFL Cup tie against Swansea City, and signed his first professional contract the following week.
Bill Linacre, Ishmael Miller, Danny Mills, Carlo Nash, Alvaro Negredo, Alex Nimely, Jamie Pollock, Uwe Rosler (Boro trialist), Paul Sugrue, Alf Wood, Bruno Zuculini.
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