Manchester City will be back in Premier League action on Wednesday when they host Southampton FC. With a nearly fully fit squad to choose from, we could see some changes to their team.
City had a disappointing game at the weekend as their incredible, record setting win streak came to an end against fierce rivals Manchester United. They will want to bounce back and get the three points against the Saints.
Pep Guardiola might be thinking of making some changes to the team so that they can be a bit fresher. He can rotate his squad and we could see some different players being given a chance for the midweek game.
The Manchester side will line up in a 4-3-3 formation with Ederson in goal. And in the spirit of giving players a rest, we could be seeing a couple of changes being made to the defence.
This would be John Stones and Joao Cancelo dropping to the bench. Kyle Walker will come in as the right back with Oleksandr Zinchenko starting as the left back. Aymeric Laporte can slot in for John Stones and will be partnered with Ruben Dias in the centre of defence.
One area that wasn’t up to the mark on Sunday was the midfield and Guardiola would want some changes here as well. This will result in Rodri and Kevin De Bruyne dropping to the bench.
Ilkay Gundogan will be the one to retain his place in the centre. Along with the German, it will be Fernandinho and Bernardo Silva coming in.
It makes City more dangerous as they have midfield runners who can support the attack. The visitors will find it difficult to control the midfield as they will have one less body to deal with what City can do. In attack, Manchester City need something new, as both Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez looked like they needed a rest on Sunday. They along with Gabriel Jesus will be on the bench for this game.
In their place, it will be the return of Sergio Aguero as the centre forward. And on the wings, it will be Phil Foden and Ferran Torres. After losing their last game, City should be confident of responding with a win on Wednesday.
Predicted Manchester City Starting XI Against Southampton (4-3-3):
Ederson, Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, Aymeric Laporte, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Fernandinho, Bernardo Silva, Ilkay Gundogan, Ferran Torres, Sergio Aguero, Phil Foden