While a host of friendly matches are scheduled before Premier League action resumes, for some of our European contingent focus switches to the Euro 2016 qualifiers and the Ivory Coast start their qualification for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.
Edin Dzeko is likely to take to the field for the first time as the permanent Bosnia and Herzegovina captain on Thursday when his country take on Liechtenstein in a friendly. The striker was chosen to lead the side following the international retirement of Emir Spahic this summer.
Bosnia will be looking for a win to prepare for next Tuesday’s Euro 2016 qualifier with Cyprus – Dzeko’s side are bidding to reach their first ever Euro finals as an independent nation.
Another fixture sure to catch the eye of City fans is Spain’s friendly clash with France on Thursday evening. David Silva is part of La Roja’s squad and he could take on Bacary Sagna and Eliaquim Mangala at the Stade de France in Paris at the weekend.
Spain will be using the match as preparation for Monday’s Euro qualifier with Macedonia, while City’s French duo could face their club teammates once more with Les Bleus scheduled to face off against Serbia in another friendly on Sunday.
Aleks Kolarov and Matija Nastasic will be hoping to gain more minutes for a Serbia side preparing for their own European Qualifiers set to kick off in October.
In Africa, Yaya Toure remains a key figure for the Ivory Coast as they kick off their Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign with tests against Sierra Leone and Cameroon. New boss Herve Renard has taken the reins from Sabri Lamouchi since the World Cup and will be eager to start his tenure with a win.
The Elephants are scheduled to take on Sierra Leone on Friday, however the Ebola outbreak has made the fixture unlikely to go ahead. Ivory Coast are due to travel to Cameroon on Wednesday 10 September.
Joe Hart and James Milner have been selected in Roy Hodgson’s first England squad following the World Cup group stage exit, and will be in contention to take on Norway in a friendly encounter at Wembley on Wednesday.
Hodgson is likely to use Wednesday’s clash to prepare for a first Euro 2016 qualifier with Switzerland on Monday 8 September, at St Jakob Park in Basel.
Meanwhile, City’s Argentinian trio, namely Sergio Aguero, Pablo Zabaleta and Martin Demichelis, have all been recalled to the Argentina squad ready for a rematch of the World Cup final with Germany – although it’s just a friendly this time. Dusseldorf’s ESPRIT Arena is set to host this intriguing encounter this coming Wednesday night.
Stevan Jovetic is expected to start for Montenegro on Monday 8 September in their Euro 2016 qualifier against Moldova in Podgorica, while Vincent Kompany is likely to captain the Belgian Red Devils in a friendly against Australia in Liege on Thursday night.
Brazil are looking to move on after the 2014 World Cup, and Fernandinho returns to Le Selecao for two friendlies against South American opposition.
The midfielder will head to the USA for the double header, hoping to feature against Colombia in the Sun Life Stadium in Miami in the early hours of Saturday morning UK time, before the squad depart for the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey to take on Ecuador on Tuesday night.
Finally, City striker John Guidetti is part of the Sweden u21 squad in their European Championship qualifying double header. The young Swedes take on Greece on Friday night before facing Turkey on Tuesday – Halmstad is set to host both matches.
Keep up to date with how they all get on right here on mcfc.co.uk.
