Manchester City
Manchester City IBTimes UK

Manchester City kicks off the second match of its preseason Asia tour on Wednesday against a K League All-Stars squad in Seoul, South Korea, giving fans around the world a chance to watch new manager Enzo Maresca continue shaping his squad ahead of the 2026-27 Premier League campaign.

The match is being played at Seoul World Cup Stadium, a venue that hosted matches during the 2002 World Cup, with kickoff set for noon local UK time, which translates to 7 a.m. Eastern time in the United States, 8 p.m. in South Korea, 4:30 p.m. in India and 9:30 p.m. in Australia.

How to Watch

The match will not air on traditional television in the United Kingdom or in most markets around the world. Instead, Manchester City is streaming the game live through CITY+, the club's own in-house subscription streaming service, available on the club's official website and mobile app. The service costs £34.99 annually or £9.99 per month on its own, or fans can access it as part of a broader Premium Membership package priced at £65 per year, which bundles CITY+ with other club membership benefits.

For fans in South Korea specifically, the CITY+ stream will not be available, since the match is being blacked out in the host country, likely to preserve the value of any local broadcast rights tied to the K League All-Stars' side. Local South Korean broadcasters may carry separate coverage of the match in that market, though no single confirmed domestic broadcaster had been widely reported ahead of kickoff. Fans without a CITY+ subscription elsewhere can still follow the match through live audio commentary available via the Matchday Centre on Manchester City's official website and app, along with in-game highlights and text updates.

Manchester City has also confirmed that extended highlights and a full-match replay will be made available on CITY+ shortly after the final whistle for subscribers who are unable to watch the match live given the early morning kickoff time in markets such as the United States.

Part of a Broader Asia Tour

Wednesday's match against the K League All-Stars is the second of three fixtures on Manchester City's preseason tour of Asia. The club opened its tour with a match against Inter Milan in Hong Kong, which finished 1-1 after Divin Mubama opened the scoring for City before Benjamin Pavard equalized for the Italian side, with Inter ultimately winning the ensuing penalty shootout. City will close out its Asia tour on Sunday, Aug. 9, with a match against Atletico Madrid, also kicking off at noon UK time and also streamed live through CITY+.

This marks City's first meeting with a K League All-Stars selection since previously playing in South Korea as recently as 2023, a trip the club has described as reflecting the strong fan interest in both Manchester City and the broader European game within the country. The K League All-Stars format brings together a squad of standout players drawn from across South Korea's top-flight domestic league to face a single high-profile international opponent, a fixture that has become an annual preseason tradition for major European clubs touring the region.

A Tricky Opponent

Despite representing an exhibition-style selection rather than a traditional club side, the K League All-Stars have built a reputation in recent years for competing closely with elite European opposition. The squad defeated Newcastle United in a 2025 exhibition match and pushed Tottenham Hotspur to a narrow 4-3 defeat in a 2024 meeting, results that suggest Wednesday's fixture could prove more competitive than a typical preseason friendly against a similarly assembled all-star side.

A New Era Under Maresca

Wednesday's match comes at a significant moment for Manchester City, marking the beginning of the club's first full season since the departure of longtime manager Pep Guardiola. New head coach Enzo Maresca is using the preseason tour to evaluate his squad and begin implementing his own tactical approach ahead of City's bid to reclaim the Premier League title from Arsenal.

Several key first-team players remain unavailable for the match following their participation at the FIFA World Cup earlier this summer, including Erling Haaland, Rodri, Nico O'Reilly, Elliot Anderson and Jérémy Doku. Rodri in particular is expected to be sidelined for an extended period after the club confirmed he underwent minor back surgery, a development that comes amid reported interest from Real Madrid in the Spanish midfielder. Meanwhile, Rúben Dias, Matheus Nunes and Omar Marmoush have rejoined the touring squad in South Korea after being unavailable for City's opening match against Inter Milan, and are expected to feature for at least a portion of Wednesday's match.

According to team news reported ahead of kickoff, City's starting lineup for the match against the K League All-Stars was expected to include Gianluigi Donnarumma in goal behind a backline of Khusanov, Dias as captain, Gvardiol and Ait-Nouri, with Lewis, Kovacic and Reijnders anchoring midfield, and Foden, Mubama and Semenyo leading the attacking line.

With City set to face Atletico Madrid in its final Asia tour match on Sunday before returning to Europe to complete preseason preparations, Wednesday's match against the K League All-Stars represents an important step in Maresca's effort to build cohesion within his squad ahead of a Premier League campaign that will see City looking to reclaim the title after Arsenal's triumph the previous season. Fans looking to follow the match in real time are encouraged to confirm their regional CITY+ availability ahead of kickoff, given the blackout restrictions in place for South Korean viewers and the early morning start time facing audiences across North and South America.

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