Manchester City's pre-season preparations started with a 1-1 draw against Inter Milan before they lost on penalties and new manager Enzo Maresca will be demanding a response against the K-League All Stars.
There was little shame in that result given that the Citizens still remained without Rodri, Erling Haaland, Rayan Cherki, Marc Guehi, Elliot Anderson and Nico O'Reilly after their World Cup heroics and they were unfortunate having dominated the contest.
Better should be expected against the K-League All Stars, who have already faced two Premier League tests in recent seasons.
Last season the K-League All Stars defeated Newcastle United 1-0, while they pushed Tottenham hard in 2024, losing 4-3 in a seven-goal thriller.
The Citizens are another step up, however, and still have quality in abundance despite their absentees, with Antoine Semenyo, Phil Foden, Savinho and Tijjani Reijnders leading from the front.
K-League All Stars v Manchester City Tips Summary
Best Bet - Manchester City to win & over 3.5 goals @ 5/4
Alternative Bet - Both teams to score in first half @ 2/1
Bet Builder - Over 2.5 goals for Manchester City, Manchester City Half-time/Full-time & Both teams to score @ 13/5
K-League All Stars v Manchester City Prediction
Best Bet: Manchester City to win & over 3.5 goals @ 5/4
Although held to a 1-1 draw by Italian champions Inter in their pre-season opener, Maresca will have been content with the performance given the sheer number of first-team players still yet to return.
Divin Mubama gave City a 14th-minute lead only for Benjamin Pavard to equalise six minutes later, with the Italian giants going on to win a penalty shootout.
However, City won the shot count 24-10, had seven efforts on target and forced nine corners, to suggest that on a different day they may have run out convincing winners.
Semenyo and Savinho were particularly threatening in wide areas and they should find this a touch easier against the K-League All Stars, who have a familiar face in former Premier League player Ki Sung-yueng.
The K-League All Stars did beat Newcastle 1-0 in pre-season last year, but they were beaten 4-3 by Tottenham in 2024.
In 2023, K-League All Stars edged past Atletico Madrid 3-2 while they were beaten 6-3 by Spurs in 2022.
That suggests this could be a high-scoring affair and the Citizens will be expected to put up a strong response to the draw with Inter.
Alternative Bet: Both teams to score in first half @ 2/1
K-League All Stars have been playing one elite European rival in pre-season in recent years and the majority of those matches have produced a glut of goals.
It started in 2019 when K-League All Stars drew 3-3 with Juventus, while in 2022 they lost 6-3 to Tottenham and were beaten 4-3 by Spurs in 2024.
In 2023 they edged past Atletico 3-2 and, with their squad not used to playing against one another all that much, it could be an end-to-end affair.
Both teams scored in the first half of City's 1-1 draw with Inter and this could be another lively start to proceedings, with the Premier League heavyweights likely to get stronger as the game develops.
K-League All Stars v Manchester City Bet Builder Tip
Over 2.5 goals for Manchester City
Manchester City Half-time/Full-time
Both teams to score
Pays 13/5
Man City had 24 shots in the 1-1 draw with Inter which started their pre-season and they could put K-League All Stars to the sword.
Even though they are missing some key players, a lot of quality remains and they should stamp their authority at half-time, before going on to score at least three goals.
City still look light defensively though and K-League All Stars beat Newcastle in a pre-season friendly last season, as well as scoring three in defeat to Tottenham in 2024.
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Both teams have scored in five of the K-League All Stars' last six pre-season friendlies with European opponents
Both teams have scored in City's last three matches and five of the Citizens' last eight games have gone over 2.5 goals
The Citizens have won nine of their last 13 fixtures
City have scored in each of their last 13 games
Antoine Semenyo has netted 11 goals in 27 appearances since joining City
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
