Man City have an injury crisis, and there could be up to 11 players sidelined for the Manchester derby.
However, that can’t be used as an excuse not to secure the three points against rivals United, who are not exactly coming into this weekend’s match with a great deal of confidence either.
Read below as we share our Man City predicted lineup for the game at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday evening.
Goalkeeper and Defence
GK – Gianluigi Donnarumma – the Italian may be a bit rusty, but he is still a top-class keeper, so he should get the nod ahead of James Trafford.
RB – Matheus Nunes – Rico Lewis withdrew from international duty to an unspecified injury so the Portuguese is likely to keep his place.
CB – Ruben Dias – both John Stones and Abdukodir Khusanov are fitness doubts so the centre-back is set for a recall.
CB – Nathan Ake – the 30-year-old has not featured prominently so far this season, having started just 1 of the first 3 league games. He could play in the middle of defence if Stones, Khusanov and Gvardiol are not available.
LB – Rayan Ait-Nouri – the left-back did not link up with Algeria for international duty, so there are still concerns about his fitness, but the feeling is that he will ready for the derby.