City will face the star-studded line-up in our second pre-season fixture of our 2026 Asia Tour.
Kick-off is set for 12:00 (UK) on Wednesday 5 August, with every moment of the match available to watch live on CITY+ (excluding South Korea).
And, like always, our usual Matchday Centre coverage on mancity.com and the Official Man City App will be available for fans to enjoy, alongside our regular updates on our social media channels: @ManCity.
Subscribe to CITY+ to see our Tour matches
Ahead of our exciting and highly anticipated friendly with some of the K-League’s biggest names, we asked Davis, who is a dedicated reporter of Korean football, for his insight ahead of the match…
STYLE OF PLAY
When people talk about the Premier League they talk about the pace and intensity of it. What nuisances of the Premier League do you see in the K-League?
I mentioned before the 15 minutes of kind of chaos and I think it’s similar in the Premier League where every team goes out to win a game. No team really plays for a draw so you get basketball style games in the last 10/15 minutes of the game.
It’s quite exciting and fast paced throughout the game, whereas the hot weather or the pitch quality makes it a little impossible to play to the tempo of the Premier League [for long spells] but that is what I would say.
PREMIER LEAGUE INFLUENCE
When people talk about the Premier League they talk about the pace and intensity of it. What nuisances of the Premier League do you see in the K-League?
I mentioned before the 15 minutes of kind of chaos and I think it’s similar in the Premier League where every team goes out to win a game. No team really plays for a draw. So you get basketball style games in the last 10/15 minutes of the game.
It’s quite exciting and fast paced, probably just in that period. Whereas the hot weather or the pitch quality makes it a little impossible to play to the tempo of the Premier League but that is what I would say.
EYE-CATCHING NAMES
In terms of the game, what should City fans expect to see from the K-League squad?
It is the all-star team so it kind of is the best players in the league. Some very exciting players in good form, players who played at the World Cup like Yazan [Al-Arab] who played for Jordan.
Lee Ki-hyuk who started for Korea in all of their games. You’ve got some young talent like Son Jeong-Beom who plays for FC Seoul, which is where the game is held. He’s a very exciting prospect who a lot of people are hoping he will make the next step to the Premier League one day.
It will be a good team; there is usually a lot of goals in this game. Although Newcastle managed to make it a 1-0 win for the K-League All-Stars last time. It’s usually quite exciting, very attacking and yeah, the best of the best.
And fans will recognise a familiar name in former Swansea, Sunderland and Newcastle man Ki Sung-Yung. What role do you expect him to play?
He is a leader-like figure. He still plays in the K-League, at one of the top teams, the Pohang Steelers. We do have the feeling although I don’t think it’s officially announced, that this is the last dance.
He’s got a lot of experience, he plays most weeks, maybe limited to maybe 20/30 minutes in this game. A lot of players look up to him because of his history in the Premier League and also the national team.
I think there is a big hope that he shows an interest in the coaching side of the game. That defensive midfielder, passer, just like your previous manager [Pep Guardiola] seemed to do well in coaching. So hopefully he sticks around in the game.
MANAGER
Could you talk to us a bit more about the manager for the K-League team?
So it’s a bit of a pairing role. Current champions Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors coach, Chung Jung-yong will be in charge. Although he didn’t win the league with them, that was Gus Poyet last year. But he’s worked his way [up].
He’s most famous for taking the South Korean U20 team to the World Cup final. He’s partnering with Chung Kyung-ho who is of Gangwon. And he’s a very impressive young coach, one of the youngest in the league. And they’ll have a duel role. They’ll try to play attacking football, try to make it fair for all the players, make sure they get the right minutes but not taking it too seriously.
Watch our 2026 tour games on CITY+!
Subscribe to CITY+ now to see all three of City’s games during our 2026 pre-season tour of Asia.
After Saturday’s meeting with Inter, we’ll now head to Seoul to play a K League All-Stars side on Wednesday 5 August and then Atletico Madrid on Sunday 9 August. Both games begin at 12:00 (UK).
Each game will be available to watch on mancity.com and our official app for current CITY+ subscribers globally*.
Available for £34.99 annually or £9.99 per month, or unlock CITY+ as part of Premium Membership (£65/year), which brings together the best of City, in one membership.
*K-League All Stars v City: Globally available except South Korea
City v Atletico Madrid: Globally available except South Korea, Spain
