Good afternoon! The 2016-17 Premier League season is up and running, and already we have had shocks and talking points. The late kickoff on the opening day sees Manchester City host Sunderland at the Etihad Stadium in a match that marks not just the start of a new season for both clubs, but also the start of a new era. Both teams have new managers at the helm, but it will be fair to say that most eyes will be on the City dugout and Pep Guardiola. Let's start with a look at his, and David Moyes's, maiden team selection...

MAN CITY STARTING XI: Caballero; Sagna, Stones, Kolarov, Clichy; Fernandinho, Silva, Nolito, De Bruyne, Sterling; Aguero

MAN CITY SUBS: Hart, Zabaleta, Fernando, Navas, Delph, Otamendi, Iheanacho

SUNDERLAND STARTING XI: Mannone; Love, Kaboul, Kone, O'Shea, van Aanholt; Rodwell, Gooch, Watmore, Borini; Defoe

SUNDERLAND SUBS: Pickford, Djilobodji, Lens, McNair, Khazri, Asoro, Januzaj

Well, Pep Guardiola's team selections are usually a intriguing aspect of a game in their own right, and he hasn't disappointed with his first Premier League XI today. We have to start with Joe Hart being dropped from the side, as was rumoured would be the case in the build-up to today's game. The England number one has made some high-profile errors in past seasons, and did so for his country at Euro 2016 too, and he is forced to settle for a place on the bench today, with Caballero given the nod. Odds on a keeper to arrive in the transfer market then?

In front of Caballero are more talking points, with John Stones being handed his debut for the club just days after completing a £47.5m move from Everton. He is a very Guardiola type of player, and is more suited to a team like City than Everton, when his defensive weaknesses and willingness to play out of the back were highlighted more often. Alongside him is Kolarov, who we know as a left-back but who is forced to fill in in the middle today, with Kompany and Mangala sidelined and Otamendi only fit enough for the bench having been struggling with a tendon problem recently.

Fernandinho, who played in defence during City's final pre-season game, makes his 100th Premier League appearance for the club, and interestingly he is joined in a deeper-lying midfield role by Silva. The Spaniard is, of course, more used to playing in the hole behind the striker, but he will look to pull the strings from further back today, while Yaya Toure does not even make the squad. Nolito, like Stones, makes his debut in the trio behind the striker, alongside De Bruyne and Sterling, the latter of whom has come in for plenty of criticism for his performances both last season and during the summer.

Perhaps the only position we could have been sure of in Guardiola's selection was the striker, as Sergio Aguero once again leads the line. City's title chances could well depend on whether they are able to keep him fit for the entire season, with the Argentine having managed 24 league goals last term despite having his campaign interrupted by injuries. He has scored a league-high 17 Premier League goals in 2016, from just 18 appearances, while his last three games against Sunderland have yielded three goals and two assists.

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As for Sunderland, Moyes has also named two debutants in his starting XI for tonight's game, with Love and Gooch getting the nod from the new manager. Love is one of three players to have arrived from Manchester United this summer, with Moyes using his Old Trafford connections to good effect, while the other two - McNair and Januzaj - are both available for the bench. Papy Djilobodji, Sunderland's other summer signing from Chelsea, is also amongst the substitutes for this one.

Quite how Sunderland line up remains to be seen, with the possible of a back three and Love and Van Aanholt on the wings the most likely formation. O'Shea is capable of playing in defensive midfield, but it is not a role he is fulfilled for a number of years now and Moyes is unlikely to throw him in at the deep end against this Man City attacking lineup. Instead, he is expected to be alongside Kaboul and Kone at the back, the latter of whom is included despite asking to leave the club. The rumoured Everton target claimed that he had been promised a new contract which has not arrived, although Sunderland say that they will put one on the table on September 1, after the transfer window ends.

With Cattermole, Larsson and Kirchhoff all out, Moyes didn't exactly have a huge amount of choice in midfield, which perhaps explains the inclusion of Gooch. Watmore and Borini will provide width going forward, although they are perhaps more likely to have been chosen for their work rate and defensive contributions. City are expected to dominate the ball for long spells today, and Moyes has selected a defensive team, which also explains the absence of Khazri from the starting XI.

However, the Black Cats will know that there is always a chance of a goal with Jermain Defoe on the pitch. The striker was perhaps more responsible than anyone for keeping Sunderland in the top flight last season, with his 15 Premier League goals proving invaluable on their way to safety. He is now looking to become only the eighth player to ever score in 16 different Premier League seasons, and there wouldn't ben many better ways to kick off his new season with a goal at the Etihad.

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There is no doubt that Manchester City head into this game as the heavy favourites to win, though, and they also find themselves as favourites to go all the way and win the title this season. It is expected to be such a competitive campaign, with as many as six clubs - even seven if you include reigning champions Leicester despite their defeat to Hull earlier - harbouring ambitions of launching a title challenge. Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur will all fancy their chances, but according to the bookies it is Man City who lead the way.

That is, of course, a lot to do with the arrival of Pep Guardiola, who has established a reputation as one of the finest coaches in world football in his short but successful managerial career. Reviews from the vast majority of his players, and other coaches who have gone to see him, have been glowing, and you certainly can't argue with his record. He has won the league title in six of his seven seasons as a manager and has 21 trophies to his name in that time - an average of three per season(!)

That trophy haul includes two Champions League crowns, and as much as his domestic success that is perhaps why Man City fought so hard to land Guardiola's services. The Champions League remains the holy grail for the club's owners and, while Manuel Pellegrini took them closer than ever before with a place in the semi-finals last season, they still haven't quite taken their place amongst Europe's elite. They hope that Guardiola, in addition to the new players he has brought in, will take them closer to that goal, although he didn't manage to win Europe's top prize while at Bayern Munich.

The fact that not winning the Champions League is seen as something of a failure on Guardiola's part gives an idea of the level of expectation his success has brought, though, and it will be fascinating to see how he copes in the Premier League. He is here to test himself, and it will certainly be a different test to anything he has encountered in his managerial career so far. In Barcelona he inherited - and, to give him credit, improved - arguably the greatest team of all time, while Bayern Munich had just won the treble when he took over at the Allianz Arena. In Spain, only one or two other teams could realistically win the title, and in Germany not even Dortmund could really compete, so this will be a new challenge for the maestro for sure.

One of the biggest questions will be whether his style of play, which was so effective at Barcelona and Bayern, will work as well in England, with the increased tempo and physicality of play. Sunderland is a good test of the latter for sure, but Guardiola is a smart enough manager to be able to adapt to different tests as and when they pop up. It may take a bit of time for the players to completely get in to his philosophy, but if it does work then City will be a force to be reckoned with both at home and abroad this season.

He has certainly been backed in the transfer market, with £150m being spent on new players such as Stones, Nolito, Gundogan, Sane and Zinchenko. A few of them are not quite ready to make their debuts today, but they should each add something to the Man City team and when you consider they are also missing the likes of Kompany and Toure today, that makes for a formidable squad.

At the very least, City will be expecting an improvement on last season's performance. They may have broken new ground in the Champions League and own the League Cup, but a dreadful second half of the season saw them scrape to a fourth-placed finish, only holding off local rivals Manchester United and booking their place in Europe's top-tier competition again on goal difference. It is clear where their problems lay, with City boasting the best attack in the league but the worst defence in the top six, and even at home they were disappointing. They tasted defeat five times at the Etihad in the Premier League last term - as many as in the previous four seasons combined.

Sunderland will also be hoping for an improvement from last season too, and to finally break out of the cycle they have found themselves in in recent seasons. The Black Cats have generally narrowly survived the previous season, got off to a poor start in the new campaign, sacked their manager and then done it all again in recent years. The club are in desperate need of stability, and David MOyes may just be the man to give them it. If he can repeat what he did at Everton then he will prove to be a perfect appointment for the club.

Of course, Moyes's reputation has since been damaged by unsuccessful spells with Manchester United, where he was tasked with the impossible job of succeeding Sir Alex Ferguson, and Real Sociedad, but after a few topsy-turvy years at Everton he was able to stabilise them and turn them into regular European contenders. Sunderland have the stadium, the fan base and seemingly the money to be pushing for the top half of the table, and fans will be hoping that their nail-biting relegation battles will soon become a thing of the past.

Of course, in an ideal world Moyes may not even be at the Stadium of Light right now. Sunderland looked to be content with Sam Allardyce after he became the latest manager to dig them out of a hole, and there is no doubting that he did a fantastic job during his time on Wearside. Indeed, the Black Cats picked up one more point over the final 14 games of the season than Manchester City managed, but Allardyce was then coaxed away from the club in order to take on his dream job as England manager.

The whole saga surrounding the England appointment did drag on a little too long for Sunderland's liking, but they acted quickly once losing Allardyce in order to minimise any disruption to their schedule. It certainly didn't seem to have much of an impact on the field, with the Black Cats progressing through pre-season unbeaten with four wins from their six outings. Their final game came against Borussia Dortmund too - a team who had swept aside Manchester United earlier in the summer - from which Sunderland came away with a 1-1 draw.

In the end, Sunderland beat relegation by two points last season as their North-East neighbours Newcastle joined Aston Villa and Norwich in the Championship, but they made things difficult for themselves with a poor start. They didn't pick up their first win until the end of October, finally doing so in their 10th game of the season when they cruised past Newcastle. They conceded seven goals in their first two games and had the worst defence for much of the opening half of the campaign until Allardyce came in and tightened things up at the back.

Ominously enough heading into this match, it was away from home where their main troubles came last term. Only the relegated trio had a worse record on the road, while no team in the division shipped more goals on their travels. The Black Cats were beaten 42 times away from home, compared to just 20 at home - less than City managed on their own patch. They did score more goals than both Manchester clubs away from home and ended up with the best attack in the bottom nine overall, but it was that defence that prevented them from turning those into points.

Sunderland conceded the most shots (573) and shots on target (223) in the Premier League last season, and they may well find themselves peppered again today if, as expected, Man City dominate possession inside the visitors' half. The Black Cats don't exactly have a good record to fall back on on the opening day, having failed to win any of their last six Premier League openers since 2009. Man City, on the other hand, have won their last sive and are unbeaten in their last seven. In fact, the hosts have never been beaten at home in their first match of a Premier League season.

PREDICTION: Right, we're 10 minutes away from kickoff at the Etihad Stadium, which means that it is time for a prediction! Well, we have already had one major shock today with Leicester being beaten by Hull, but surely we won't see a second here. I'm not expecting City to be in full flow just yet, but Sunderland have named a defensive lineup and are likely to concede the lion's share of possession. This City side is good enough to break them down, so I'm going for a 2-0 home victory.

Man City have dominated this fixture in recent years, and have not lost a top-flight league game at home against the Black Cats since December 1981. They have won 11 and drawn three of their 14 since then, while the last time Sunderland won on City turf was in January 1998 in the second tier. The Black Cats have never tasted victory at the Etihad Stadium, then.

Home and away, City have won the last five meetings between these two sides in all competitions, scoring 16 goals in that time including three separate 4-1 victories. City's unbeaten streak stretches to seven games since a 1-0 defeat in November 2013. Last season Aguero scored the only goal of the game at the Stadium of Light in February, while the corresponding fixture ended in a 4-1 win for the Citizens as the hosts raced into a 3-0 lead inside 22 minutes.

Pep Guardiola has won his opening league fixture in each of his last six seasons as a manager, three times each with both Barcelona and Bayern Munich. However, he did lose his first ever league game with Barca, being stunned 1-0 by Numancia, although they recovered from that setback to go and win the title. Moyes, meanwhile, has won five times as a visiting manager at the Etihad Stadium, which is a tally only Arsene Wenger can beat.

Right, we're just a couple of minutes away from kickoff in the final match of the opening day. The players are out and we're just about ready to go at the Etihad!

KICKOFF: Here we go then! Sunderland get their Premier League season underway by kicking us off against Manchester City.

SAVE! Sunderland have a good chance early on as Fernandinho gives away a free kick in a dangerous position following a poor pass from Kolarov. Borini curls the resulting free kick towards goal and Caballero only parries it away, which keeps the pressure on. Gooch stands a cross up for Watmore, whose header lands on the roof of the net.

The Pep Guardiola era is up and running! Man City break the deadlock after just four minutes, and Sergio Aguero opens his own personal account from the penalty spot. It was a poor challenge from Van Aanholt, who went to ground in the area and took Sterling's feet from beneath him. Bobby Madley had no choice but to point to the spot, and Aguero tucks it into the corner.

City come forward again down the left flank as Aguero plays a one-two with Silva before being hauled down by Rodwell. Free kick in a good crossing position...

De Bruyne swings it in, and it may have even been a shot despite the tight angle, but Mannone easily punches it clear.

Well, Sunderland started brightly enough with those two sights of goal in the opening couple of minutes, but since then it has been one-way traffic. Sunderland could be in for a long afternoon here...

SAVE! Aguero looks for a second as Sunderland struggle to clear their lines, with Kaboul's header only dropping to the Argentine at the back post. Aguero goes for goal first time, but he doesn't catch it right and Mannone makes a comfortable save.

Another decent moment for Gooch as he picks the ball up down the left channel and cuts a low ball into the middle that is very dangerous. However, it is just behind Borini and no other Sunderland players are coming in at the back post.

City, as expected, are dominating possession at the moment. We're only 13 minutes in but already the hosts are in complete control and if they get a second quickly then Sunderland could be on course for a bit of a hammering.

Sunderland are actually playing with a back four, by the way, with O'Shea playing in defensive midfield. That is obviously down to the club's injury problems at the moment, so it is an area that Moyes will be desperate to strengthen.

Guardiola's formations really are hard to pin down. Just like he did at Bayern, the two full-backs are playing pretty much in central midfield when City have the ball.

SHOT! City suddenly up the tempo as Silva plays a pass inside the full-back for Nolito to run on to. He then cuts inside and finds Aguero, who can't get a shot away but does keep the move alive with a pass to Sterling. The winger ducks into a shooting position, but fires his effort off target.

Aguero tries his luck from range having been afforded a bit of space, but he drags a poor shot well wide.

Want an idea of how much City are dominating this one? They have enjoyed a whopping 80% possession in the opening quarter of this game. They will want a second goal to drive it home, but they are well on top right now.

SHOT! City are again camped inside the Sunderland half and Silva gives it out to Nolito. The summer signing once again comes inside onto his right foot and tries to bend one into the far top corner, but it flies wide of the target.

Sunderland just can't get anything going forward here. Guardiola's philosophy of winning the ball back within five seconds is well documented, but Sunderland aren't exactly making things difficult for the hosts.

As long as the deficit remains at one Sunderland are still in this match, but they are allowing City to play this match almost a walking pace. That may be acceptable if the scores were still goalless, but City have the luxury of the lead and are in no rush to take any unnecessary risks.

Caballero needs to be quick off his line here as Sunderland get a chance to do exactly what they are waiting for. Kone intercepts a pass in defence and plays a long ball forward towards Defoe, but the keeper is there to beat the striker to it.

That is perhaps the one glimmer of hope for Sunderland at the moment. Guardiola has no problem leaving his centre-backs isolated, so if they can break quickly with Defoe against Stones or Kolarov then they may be able to create a chance.

For all of Man City's dominance in this match, Mannone has been relatively untroubled in the Sunderland goal. Aguero's penalty aside, the keeper has only had one comfortable stop to make on a shot that was going wide anyway, which is not representative of how much City have been in control here.

SHOT! De Bruyne tries an effort from range as Sunderland again pack bodies behind the ball, with the Belgian lining up a shot from 30 yards. He hits it well enough, but Mannone has it covered all the way and watches it a couple of yards wide.

Sunderland have a free kick in a decent crossing position here after Kolarov just eased Watmore off the ball...

The ball is floated into the middle, but Caballero comes to claim it and does so with no pressure on him.

SHOT! A very rare shot for Sunderland as Rodwell suddenly finds himself in a bit of space in midfield. He strides towards goal before letting fly, but his effort takes a slight deflection on its way well wide.

CHANCE! Big chance for Sunderland to level things up against the run of play! City fail to clear their lines from a corner and Kone nods it back in to the middle. Defoe holds the defender off and flicks a volley towards goal, but Caballero makes a fine stop to keep his side ahead.

YELLOW CARD! The first card of the evening is shown to Gooch for a challenge on Sterling.

Sunderland win another corner as Borini lofts a high ball into the box. Caballero is under no pressure, but the ball is dropping under his crossbar and so takes no risks and tips it over the top.

There will be one minute of added time at the end of this first half.

The first half comes to an end at the Etihad Stadium, then, and it is Manchester City who go into the break ahead as expected. They took the lead early on and have utterly dominated possession since then, but the lead is only one goal and while that remains the case, Sunderland are still in this game.

The opening goal arrived after less than four minutes of the Pep Guardiola era, and you wouldn't have got very long odds on Aguero getting it. He tucked the ball away from the penalty spot neatly after Sterling, who has had a decent first half, was brought down by Van Aanholt in the area.

Despite the hosts enjoying around 80% possession throughout that first half, the best chance aside from the goal actually fell to Sunderland. They almost stole an equaliser towards the end of the first half when City failed to clear their lines from a corner and Kone nodded it back into a dangerous area. Defoe was there and flicked a good volley towards goal, but Caballero made a big save to keep his side in front.

Aside from that, clear chances have actually been few and far between. City have completely dominated, but they have not managed to turn that into clear chances so far. Sterling and Nolito have both sent curling efforts off target from the corner of the area, while De Bruyne has fired a long-range strike a few yards wide, but for the most part Mannone has been relatively untroubled.

Sunderland have offered next to nothing going forward with the exception of that Defoe chance, but you can see that their gameplan is simply to hit City on the break whenever they get the chance. If they win the ball back they are quick to launch it up towards Defoe, and the striker only needs half a chance to get an equaliser. He has almost been released on one or two occasions, but for the most part it is hard to see where Sunderland can break City down.

KICKOFF: Man City get us back underway for the second half here at the Etihad Stadium.

City have made a menacing start to this second half, and Aguero almost gets in here as De Bruyne feeds a low cross into the middle. Aguero makes the run across the far post, but he can't get on the end of it and Mannone pushes it away.

It is no surprise that City have controlled the ball in the early stages of this second half too. Sunderland will need to open the game up a bit more sooner or later, but for now they are happy to stick to their counter-attacking plan.

John Stones has had a pretty easy time of things on his Manchester City debut today, which is exactly why he is more suited to this club than Everton. The less time he spends defending and the more time he spends on the ball, the better.

Well, I'm sure a few Sunderland fans may have been fearing a rout when Aguero sent fantasy football fans into raptures with his early goal, but the Black Cats have since stood up to the test really well. They have surrendered the lion's share of possession, but have kept things tight at the back.

City's possession has increased in the second half, now standing at 83%, but they still haven't created a chance since the restart.

It's pass after pass after pass from City at the moment and they try to quicken the pass here as De Bruyne feeds a pass in to Aguero. The strike tries to flick it inside for Silva, but Sunderland are able to clear.

MAN CITY SUB: Manchester City make their first change of the match as Jesus Navas replaces Nolito.

CHANCE! Chance for City to double their advantage as Sterling speeds down the left flank, beating Love all ends up on his way to the byline before pulling the ball back. The Sunderland players almost stop as they claim that the ball went out before Sterling pulled it back, and that almost proves costly. Van Aanholt fails to clear his lines and the ball eventually falls to Aguero, who sends a snapshot just wide.

Almost another chance for Aguero as he makes another darting run towards the front post. He gets to the low cross first this time, but Kone has tracked him well and makes a good block as the ball squirms into the grateful arms of the keeper.

MAN CITY SUB: Another change from the hosts, and it is David Silva who is replaced here as Fabian Delph comes on.

SUNDERLAND SUBS: Sunderland make a couple of changes of their own, with Wahbi Khazri coming on alongside debutant Adnan Januzaj, who gets a less-than-friendly reception from the Man City fans. They replace Watmore and Gooch.

Those are two attacking changes from Sunderland, and two potential match winners being brought on. Moyes's tactics are clear here - stay in the game until the final 20 minutes and then try to nick something.

YELLOW CARD! Donald Love goes into the book on his Sunderland debut for a trip on Sterling, who had just nipped in to steal the ball. Love took one for the team there.

SAVE! The free kick is in a good crossing position, but De Bruyne tries to sneak it in at the near post and Mannone needs to be alert to push it away.

We have 20 minutes remaining in this one now, and I'm sure Sunderland fans would have taken this position if it had been offered to them immediately after Aguero's early opener.

Incredible! Having had little more than 20% possession in this match, Sunderland are level! Defoe only needs a sniff of goal and, having been played through by a lovely pass from Rodwell who kept his composure to slide his finish underneath Caballero. Somehow, Sunderland may come away from this one with a point!

This Moyes game plan has been carried off almost to perfection here. They wanted to stay in the game until the final 20 minutes before perhaps nicking a point - and as things stand that is exactly what they have done. Questions may be asked of Caballero - they always would have been after he was chosen ahead of Joe Hart - but you'd always back Defoe to score from there.

Points supercede possession, Pep, and City are now paying the price for their lack of cutting edge despite enjoying the vast majority of the ball. They have utterly controlled this match, but when it comes to clear chances City don't have too much to look back on.

There is, of course, still a while to go in this match, and with the players at City's disposal you can't count them out. Sunderland's equaliser doesn't exactly seem to have increased City's level of urgency here.

Caballero comes a long way off his line to mop up Mannone's quick clearance, and with Defoe in close attendance it is a risky touch from the Man City keeper. He pulls it off, but a few hearts would have been in mouths there.

SHOT! It hasn't happened for De Bruyne today. City break quickly down the right flank and Navas picks up the ball before rolling it back to De Bruyne, but he curls his finish well over the crossbar.

MAN CITY SUB: The hosts make their third and final change of the match as Kelechi Iheanacho replaces Clichy.

Delph whips a cross into the middle which comes off the back of Rodwell's header and goes over for a corner. That one could have gone anywhere.

SUNDERLAND SUB: The visitors also back their third change of the evening as goalscorer Defoe makes way to be replaced by Paddy McNair.

City are just camped outside the Sunderland box at the moment. The visitors have everyone behind the ball, as would be expected, and so far there has been no way through for the home side.

Ohhh it is gutting for Sunderland and in particular Paddy McNair on his Sunderland debut! They are just minutes away from a famous point, but City take the lead through an own goal in the closing stages of the match. It is good play from Navas as he beats his man before drilling a low ball into the box that Iheanacho gets a touch to before it bounces in off the head of the former Manchester United man!

CHANCE! Big chance for City to kill this game off as a poor clearance sends Man City clean through. Aguero gives it to Iheanacho, who turns and rejects an easy pass to Delph in favour of going for goal himself. He sees his shot deflected over, though.

There will be four minutes of added time at the end of this match.

YELLOW CARD! Kolarov picks up a late booking for a foul on Januzaj.

It is heartbreak for Sunderland as they see an opening-weekend point against the title favourites slip from their grasp right at the death. It is a familiar story of them being their only worst enemies on the opening day as, despite a fairly good defensive performance, they ultimately lose to a penalty and an own goal. Aguero gave City the lead from the spot early on, but Defoe levelled things up with less than 20 minutes remaining to seemingly steal a point for the visitors. However, McNair's own goal proved decisive and Guardiola got off to a winning start as City boss.

That is all we have time for this evening! Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for tonight's game as City end the opening day of the new Premier League season with a late, late win to usher in the Guardiola era. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction from both camps too. From me, though, it is goodbye for now!