Manchester City vs. Roma: Team News, Preview, Live Stream & TV Info

Manchester City's preseason preparations continue to gather pace in Australia. After their 1-0 win against Melbourne City, they now face Roma at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in their first International Champions Cup match. 

The two teams famously met in last season's Champions League. The first game at the Etihad finished 1-1, with City putting in a disappointing showing, but the return match in Rome was a classic. City won 2-0—their best Champions League performance ever—and progressed to the knockout stages for the second year running. 

This match is set to be far less fraught. Both sets of players have yet to reach optimum fitness ahead of the new campaign, meaning it's a fixture far more about fine-tuning than winning. It should, however, be an entertaining spectacle, nonetheless. 

Date: Tuesday, July 21

Kick-Off: 10:45 a.m. BST, 5:45 a.m. ET

TV Listings: Sky Sports 1 (UK), Fox Sports 1 (US)

Live Stream: Sky Go (UK), Fox Soccer 2Go (US)

Riccardo De Luca/Associated Press

Form Guide

City

City 2-0 Southampton

Swansea 2-4 City

City 6-0 QPR

Tottenham 0-1 City

City 3-2 Aston Villa

Roma

Roma 1-2 Palermo 

Lazio 1-2 Roma 

Roma 2-1 Udinese 

Milan 2-1 Roma 

Roma 2-0 Genoa 

Predicted Formations

City: (4-4-1-1)

Hart; Maffeo, Kompany, Humphreys, Clichy; Fernando, Toure, Barker, Navas; Nasri; Dzeko

Riccardo De Luca/Associated Press

Roma: (4-3-3)

De Sanctis; Maicon, Yanga-Mbiwa, Castan, Cole; Ucan, De Rossi, Nainggolan; Falque, Totti, Gervinho

Gregorio Borgia/Associated Press

Players to Watch

City: Yaya Toure 

City midfielder Yaya Toure faces a critical season. At 32, there are question marks over his ability. Is he still one of the most powerful and dynamic midfielders in the game? Or is he a fading star whose influence is on the wane? 

With no World Cup this summer and no Africa Cup of Nations tournament in January, Toure will no doubt be fresher this season. He will be desperate to show people he is still a force to reckoned with. 

Jon Super/Associated Press

Roma: Francesco Totti 

Francesco Totti became the oldest scorer of a Champions League goal when he equalised in the game between these two sides at the Etihad back in September, aged 38 years and three days. 

He's a remarkable, supremely talented player with a wonderful appreciation of the game, and his one-club loyalty marks him out as a true great of his era in the sport. It's always a pleasure to see him play. 

His 243 Serie A goals are the second-highest total in the league's history. 

Gregorio Borgia/Associated Press

Key Battle

Yaya Toure vs. Daniele De Rossi 

Two of the finest midfielders plying their trade in Europe could go to head-to-head in Melbourne. 

Daniele De Rossi, a World Cup winner with Italy, is one of Serie A's greatest players of recent years. He's played 364 league games for Roma, winning two Coppa Italias, and is considered a club great. 

Toure, too, has garnered a reputation as one of the best in the world since he moved to City. At Barcelona, where he won the Champions League and two La Liga titles, he was used exclusively in a defensive-midfield role, but at the Etihad, he has had his remit expanded. Few players have the same mix of pace, power, intelligence and passing accuracy. 

Riccardo De Luca/Associated Press

Rob Pollard is Bleacher Report's lead Manchester City correspondent and follows the club from a Manchester base. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter: @RobPollard.