FIFA 23 Man City Career Mode Guide: Starting Lineup, Who to Sign & more

As one of the best sides in world football, it is easy to see why Manchester City are a favourite team to use in FIFA 23 Career Mode.

Their side is looking more imperious than ever after the huge summer signing of Erling Haaland, so can you take over the reins and bring the Champions League to the club?

Team Rating

Manchester City has a five-star rating in FIFA 23.

The breakdown of the ratings is as follows: ATT 86, MID 86, DEF 86.

Starting Lineup and Formation

It’s nearly always a 4-3-3 for Man City, and we recommend sticking with some variation of this to get as many attacking players on the pitch as possible.

Erling Haaland fixes the striker issue from last season, with Phil Foden playing LW and Riyad Mahrez brought on at RW instead of Bernardo Silva.

Silva drops into midfield (with Ilkay Gundogan going on the bench), and you may need to change his position to a CAM to gain a boost.

He is of course joined by Kevin De Bruyne in the middle, with Rodri the general in CDM.

The defence picks itself, with Ederson the main man in goal, Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, Aymeric Laporte and Joao Cancelo the four guarding him.

You may be tempted to play new signing Manuel Akanji over Laporte due to his superior speed.

The bench is obviously superb, with another new signing Sergio Gomez joined by John Stones, Akanji, Kalvin Philips, Gundogan, Jack Grealish and Julian Alvarez.

Tactics and Instructions

Why change a winning formula?

City's tactics are very aggressive off the ball, with a high line and Press After Possession Loss, so if you want to play like the champs we wouldn't change it up.

Offensively it is Slow Build Up and Possession, which is fine if you want to copy City's gameplan, although you may want to switch the build up play to Balanced.

The only instruction we would change is for the central midfielders to Cover Centre for their Defensive Position, or you may find yourself overrun in the middle.

Development Plans

Most of the players in the side are happy playing in multiple positions, but you may need to adjust the preferred position of a couple to make the most of them - or if you have plans to switch the formation up a bit.

Bernardo Silva could do with his main position being a CM, and Cole Palmer may not prove quick enough on the wing, so switching him to a central position could be worthwhile too.

If you plan on keeping Kyle Walker for the long haul, it may be an idea to get him on the road to a CB conversion, so he can still play even when his speed starts to fade.

Training

It's clear that Haaland (POT 94) and Foden (POT 92) will become immense players, so make sure you don't forget to train them up to try and outdo their predicted potential.

Alvarez (POT 86), Palmer (POT 85), Sergio Gomez (POT 83), Morgan Rogers (POT 82) and Rico Lewis (POT 82) are other members of the squad to focus on too.

Transfer Market

Starting budget: £234 million

Who should go?

City clearly have a very strong squad, but it can still be improved, and if you are ruthless you can gain some decent money to make it even better!

Mahrez and Gundogan are both 31 and could bring in around £100 million if the right offers come in.

Grealish won't get any better and can feel a bit useless to use in-game, so don't be afraid to get rid of him for over £40 million, and Nathan Ake could fetch another £15 million.

Then there are several youngsters with potential below 80, so they are worth selling rather than sending out on loan.

Alex Robertson, Joshua Wilson-Esbrand, Ben Knight and old man Scott Carson can all be put up for sale.

Loans

We've mentioned a few of the younger players who could be put out on loan in Palmer, Rogers and Lewis.

City has plenty of players out on loan, and you should keep an eye on six of them.

Kayky (POT 86), Liam Delap (POT 84), Taylor Harwood-Bellis (POT 82), Issa Kabore (POT 82), Luke Mbete (POT 82) and Yangel Herrera (POT 81) should all be monitored to see if they fit your side.

All other players out on loan can be let go of, as they won't become better than 80 OVR.

Who to sign?

The main issue in City's side has been fixed with the signing of Erling Haaland, so bringing in a left-back is the new priority.

Yes, Cancelo is brilliant, but we would prefer not to play with an inverted LB.

Because of the money at your disposal and the heights you need this team to reach, you should only be bringing in the best around.

Theo Hernandez (OVR 85) is probably the main man to go for, although Alphonso Davies (OVR 84) is not far behind!

Transfer Targets (LB)

City doesn't have much pace on the wings, so bringing in a couple of rapid wingers can give your side a new dimension.

Transfer Targets (Wingers)

As we've got the money, we would also look to get some more squad depth in midfield and defence, using current players in the deal if we can bring in someone with better potential than them.

Transfer Targets (Squad Depth)

Board Expectations

Winning is all that matters at Man City.

This is shown by the critical priority of Domestic Success and Continental Success, with the board expecting you to win the Premier League, the FA Cup and the Champions League.

Brand Exposure is also of critical importance, where you will need to get 7 league clean sheets in a row and replace three players from the side - luckily you have the money to play with!

Youth Development is of low priority, but it is always nice to develop a player from the Youth Academy and get them regular time on the pitch.

Finally, of very low priority is Financial expectations, which should be met easily by winning what you are tasked with, but if you don't hit this goal you won't be sacked for it.