Manchester City and Juventus square off this Thursday in a high-profile Group G clash to close out the group stage of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025. Despite the significance of the match, Manchester City’s star forward Erling Haaland will begin the game on the bench.
Both teams have already secured qualification to the knockout rounds after dominant showings in their first two matches. Manchester City opened the tournament with a 2-0 win over Wydad AC before thrashing Al Ain FC 6-0 in their second outing.
Juventus have also impressed, defeating Al Ain FC 5-0 and following up with a convincing 4-1 win over Wydad AC. With both clubs sitting atop Group G, Thursday’s matchup will decide who claims the top spot — and potentially avoids facing Real Madrid in the next round.
Why is Erling Haaland not starting vs Juventus?
Haaland is not in City’s starting XI against Juventus as manager Pep Guardiola has opted to rest the Norwegian striker ahead of the upcoming knockout stage. While City are fielding most of their regular starters in the game, Guardiola appears to be managing minutes for one of his most important players.
Erling Haaland #9 of Manchester City reacts during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 group G match between Manchester City FC and Al Ain FC. (Alex Grimm/Getty Images)
The decision to bench Haaland is somewhat surprising given the stakes of finishing first in the group, but City’s depth give them confidence to compete at a high level even without their leading goal scorer.
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Manchester City’s starting lineup vs Juventus
City’s starting lineup for today’s match includes: Ederson; Matheus Nunes, Manuel Akanji, Ruben Dias, Rayan Ait-Nouri; Rodri, Tijjani Reijnders, Bernardo Silva; Savinho, Omar Marmoush, and Jeremy Doku.
On the bench, Guardiola will have several key options available, including: Marcus Betinelli, Stefan Ortega Moreno, John Stones, Nathan Ake, Nico Gonzalez, Ilkay Gundogan, Vitor Reis, Josko Gvardiol, Rayan Cherki, Abdukodir Khusanov, Phil Foden, Oscar Bobb, and Nico O’Reilly.
