Pep Guardiola takes charge of his first match as Manchester City manager against Bayern Munich (Getty)
Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for free
Sign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter
Manchester City kick-off their pre-season plans with an exciting encounter against German champions Bayern Munich, where all eyes will be on Pep Guardiola as he returns to the Bavarian club just two months after leaving.
Guardiola ended his three-year spell with Bayern to join City and spark a new era for the Premier League club, but his first match in charge will be at his former home as the Allianz Arena hosts the pre-season friendly.
A number of players will be absent due to their holiday period after Euro 2016, but the two star-studded squads will have more than enough talent to field strong line-ups while fans will also get the chance to some of the younger players looking to try and break through into the first-team squad.
Bayern compete in their second pre-season fixture, having defeated Lippstadt 08 4-3 last Saturday, while City are preparing to jet out to China where they take on their fierce rivals Manchester United in Beijing.
After their clash with United, City take on Dortmund before flying to Sweden to face Premier League rivals Arsenal in a short but difficult pre-season schedule.
What time does it start?
The match begins at 19:30 BST [20:30 CET] in Munich.
Where can you watch it?
The match will be shown live on BT Sport 1 from 19:15. You can also follow it live with The Independent from 19:00.
Pep Guardiola refused to predict what will happen during his Manchester City reign (Getty)
Who will be missing?
Guardiola is unlikely to name any of his Euro 2016 stars, at least in the first team, but nearly all of them have travelled to Germany and will feature in China. Only Kevin De Bruyne Bacary Sagna and Eliaquim Mangala are absent as they are afforded an extended holiday, with Belgium reaching the quarter-finals of Euro 2016 and France losing out in the final just 10 days ago.
The likes of Joe Hart, Raheem Sterling and Fabian Delph are all in the 34-man squad for the tour, although the decision to play them against Bayern will be up to Guardiola, and captain Vincent Kompany also travels despite missing Euro 2016 through injury. City’s South American contingent will also be unlikely to play after their exploits at the Copa America, although the tournament finished two weeks earlier than the European Championship.
8 players who could change Manchester City next season
Show all 8
Bayern find themselves in a similar situation, with beaten semi-finalists such as Thomas Müller, Manuel Neuer and new signing Mats Hummels unlikely to be risked. Despite the Netherlands missing out on Euro 2016 inclusion, Arjen Robben will not feature after suffering a knee injury in the opening match of the season, with the Dutchman set to miss the next six weeks.
Carlo Ancelotti will still be able to call on the likes of Philipp Lahm, Xabi Alonso and Franck Ribery though.
Summer 2016 Transfer Window - Done deals and rumours
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies