Manchester City will be back in Premier League action on Wednesday night, as they will be hosting Brighton & Hove Albion. How differently will they line-up compared to the team that took to the field on Sunday?
City comfortably made it to the fourth round of the FA Cup as they beat Birmingham City 3-0 on the weekend. Next up will be Brighton who present a good opportunity for the Manchester side to notch up another win and move further up the table.
A major boost in terms of team news is the return of Ederson who has missed out on the last few matches. But a blow to the club, and manager Pep Guardiola, will be the absence of Aymeric Laporte, Nathan Ake and Sergio Aguero. Another player who is a doubt for Wednesday’s game is Raheem Sterling.
City will line-up in 4-2-3-1 formation, with Ederson in goal this time around. We will see one change in defence with John Stones coming in for Kyle Walker.
He will be partnered with Ruben Dias and the two have formed a brilliant partnership in the centre of defence. Joao Cancelo and Benjamin Mendy will continue as the full backs giving the team some pace and width on the flanks.
In the central midfield roles, it will be the duo that has earned the trust of Guardiola, Rodri and Ilkay Gundogan. These two have become a key component in the way that City like to set up and they will be needed again.
Ahead of them, we are likely to see some rotation in the squad, but one player who will remain is Kevin De Bruyne. He will be the central attacking midfielder and will be tasked with pulling the strings as usual.
On either side of him will be Bernardo Silva and Ferran Torres.
The absence of Aguero means that the striker’s role will be given to Gabriel Jesus. He will want to show that he is the man to get the goals for Manchester City. As the team is slowly climbing up the Premier League table, it is games such as this where getting three points become a must. Given their recent form, City will be confident of getting the win.
Manchester City Predicted Starting XI Against Brighton (4-2-3-1):
Ederson, Joao Cancelo, John Stones, Ruben Dias, Benjamin Mendy, Rodri, Ilkay Gundogan, Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, Ferran Torres, Gabriel Jesus