Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola will most likely put out a relatively inexperienced starting lineup for Saturday's friendly with Girona at the Academy Stadium.

The Premier League champions still have one player at the World Cup in the form of Julian Alvarez, who is preparing to start for Argentina in Sunday's final against France.

A wealth of City players who bowed out in the quarter-finals are yet to return to training, including Phil Foden, Kyle Walker, Jack Grealish, Kalvin Phillips, John Stones, Joao Cancelo, Ruben Dias, Bernardo Silva, Nathan Ake and Ederson.

None of those World Cup representatives is expected to return here, and it remains to be seen if Rodri, Aymeric Laporte and Manuel Akanji will be back in time for the friendly match.

A youthful backline - potentially led by the veteran Scott Carson in goal - should therefore take to the field, with Rico Lewis and Sergio Gomez occupying the full-back roles.

Finley Burns and Jadel Katongo may earn minutes in the heart of defence, and 19-year-old Alex Robertson could occupy a spot in the midfield alongside Cole Palmer.

Two big names who have been training for Man City recently are Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Braut Haaland, who are both in line to start this one alongside Riyad Mahrez.

The final spot in Guardiola's attack may belong to 18-year-old Carlos Borges, who has a staggering 16 goals and 11 assists from 18 games at youth level this season.

Man City possible starting lineup: Carson; Lewis, Burns, Katongo, Gomez; Palmer, Robertson, De Bruyne; Mahrez, Haaland, Borges