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Confirmed line-ups: West Ham United vs Manchester City (Premier League)
Featured Image Credit: REUTERS / Alamy
Manchester City begin their defence of the Premier League title against West Ham United at the London Stadium.
Pep Guardiola's side secured back-to-back titles in the most dramatic fashion against Aston Villa on the final day of last season.
Falling 2-0 behind with just 15 minutes to go, Ilkay Gundogan's brace - sandwiched either side of Rodri's long range strike - completed a stunning comeback.
It only feels like yesterday that Fernandinho was holding the blue-ribboned trophy high into the East Manchester sky, but the team have to dust themselves down and go again.
With a World Cup basically splitting the season into two, it is a season like no other, but Pep Guardiola has stressed his squad are ready for all the trails and tribulations.
The Blues have been active in the transfer market and look refreshed after such a period of dominance.
Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko have all moved on to pastures new, with club captain Fernandinho also calling time on a nine-year stint at the Etihad Stadium.
To replace some key names, City have recruited some of the best and most promising talent from around the world.
The most statement of all was - of course - Erling Haaland's arrival from Borussia Dortmund.
Boasting a goalscoring record of almost a goal per game, the 22-year-old will fill the void left by Sergio Agüero and hopefully score goals in Sky Blue for years to come.
Julian Alvarez has also excited fans with his brief cameos, while Kalvin Phillips is expected to come in and take his game to a new level under Guardiola's stewardship.
The first task this season is a tricky trip to East London. David Moyes' side reached the Europa League semi-final last campaign and caused City a whole host of problems in their meeting back in May.
Ahead of kick-off at the London Stadium, here is how Pep Guardiola and David Moyes have lined-up their respective sides:
West Ham United
Starting XI: Fabianski; Coufal, Zouma, Johnson, Cresswell; Soucek, Rice; Bowen, Lanzini, Fornals; Antonio.
Substitutes: Randolph, Areola, Ashby, Vlasic, Downes, Coventry, Benrahma, Scamacca, Oko-Flex.
Manchester City
Starting XI: Ederson, Walker, Dias, Ake, Cancelo, Rodrigo, De Bruyne, Gundogan (C), Foden, Haaland, Grealish
Substitutes: Ortega Moreno, Phillips, Stones, Alvarez, Bernardo, Mahrez, Palmer, Lewis, Wilson-Esbrand
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