Manchester City set for warm weather training camp ahead of Barcelona friendly

Manchester City will hold a training camp in Girona in the days leading to their pre-season friendly with Barcelona next week.

The Premier League champions are set to come up against Xavi's side in a charity fixture in honour of former Barcelona goalkeeper and coach Juan Carlos Unzue, who was diagnosed with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) in 2020.

After picking up wins against West Ham and Bournemouth to kick off their title defence, Guardiola's men face Newcastle at St. James' Park on Sunday as they look to maintain a perfect start to the season.

Manchester City will face Barcelona at the Camp Nou in a charity friendly (SPP Sport Press Photo / Alamy)

The charity fixture against Barcelona was originally scheduled for last year but could not be held due to travel restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

As reported by Simon Bajkowski of the Manchester Evening News, City will hold warm weather training in Girona in the days prior to their match against Barcelona.

The Blues are due to fly directly to Spain after their weekend meeting with Newcastle and make the short journey from Girona to Barcelona on Wednesday.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola (Alamy)

Pep Guardiola hinted in his press conference ahead of City's game against Newcastle that he is likely to keep one eye on Barcelona when deciding a lineup for Sunday.

Erling Haaland bagged a fine brace on the opening day of the campaign as Manchester City claimed a 2-0 win away at West Ham, with Julian Alvarez and Kalvin Phillips also making their debuts in sky blue.

Haaland turned provider as he set up Ilkay Gundogan for the opener in City's 4-0 beating of Bournemouth last time out before Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden also got on the scoresheet.

Pep Guardiola provides instructions to Bernardo Silva (Alamy)

A key talking point ahead of next week's charity game will be Bernardo Silva's future, with Barcelona believed to be keen on bringing the Portuguese to Camp Nou before the transfer window shuts on September 1.

Silva has refused to rule out a possible Manchester City exit again this summer but it appears too little, too late for Barcelona to convince the Premier League champions to allow the 28-year-old to leave.

All proceeds from the charity game will reportedly go towards towards ALS research.

A win over Barcelona could set the tone for a long list of domestic and European fixtures for Pep Guardiola's men.

Topics: Barcelona, Manchester City, Premier League, La Liga, Pep Guardiola, Xavi, Bernardo Silva

Vayam Lahoti

Freelance Multimedia Journalist, Editor - City Xtra, Host of the BLEAV in Man City Podcast, Journalism Student

@VayamLahoti