Manchester City vs. Wydad Casablanca: Projected lineups for the opening match of Group G in the Club World Cup

Manchester City begins its journey in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, facing Wydad Casablanca in their opening match. It’s the first edition of the expanded 32-team tournament, hosted in the United States under the new format.

Manchester City begins its campaign in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. Pep Guardiola’s side faces their opening match in a tournament that now features 32 teams and is being hosted for the first time in the United States under the new format. With Erling Haaland in the starting lineup, the Premier League champions go head-to-head with Morocco’s Wydad Casablanca.

This marks Haaland’s debut appearance in the Club World Cup. The Norwegian striker missed the December 2023 edition, which took place six months after City won their first-ever UEFA Champions League title. At the time, he was sidelined due to injury and missed the semifinal against Urawa Red Diamonds. A few days later, due to FIFA regulations regarding squad changes, he was unable to be added to the roster for the final—a 4-0 win over Fluminense.

Now fit and ready, City’s star striker has a golden opportunity to chase the tournament’s all-time goal-scoring record. Cristiano Ronaldo currently leads the charts with seven goals scored across his appearances for Manchester United and Real Madrid. Haaland would need to net at least seven to match that feat, and possibly more to surpass it.

Manchester City vs Wydad Casablanca: Starting lineups for the 2025 Club World Cup

Manchester City: Ederson; Manuel Akanji, Rúben Dias, Joško Gvardiol, Rayan Aït-Nouri; Savio, İlkay Gündoğan, Omar Marmoush; Bernardo Silva, Jérémy Doku, Erling Haaland.

Wydad Casablanca: Elias Benabid; Mehdi Moufid, Jawad Harkass, Achraf Dari, Ayoub Boutouil, Ayoub Boucheta; Oussama Zemraoui, Mohamed Moubarik, Zakaria Fatihi; Mokgopa Mailula, Walid Rayhi, Kwame Obeng.