Here are the confirmed lineups for both Manchester City and Sunderland ahead of their Premier League clash at 3 pm GMT today.
City have had a mixed bag of results of late; however, their inability to keep clean sheets will be of major concern to Pep Guardiola and their fans. Only one of their last six games has finished without a goal for the opposition, and during their last two Premier League games, they have conceded six goals. Four in the midweek victory at Fulham.
Sunderland are the surprise package of this Premier League campaign, and following their home win against Bournemouth in which they came from two goals behind to win and an impressive draw at Liverpool, where they were unlucky not to win, they sit sixth in the table. With the Wear-Tyne derby next for the Black Cats, another positive performance and result will be wanted.
Read More: Sunderland Show Again the Spirit to Survive and Thrive in the Premier League
Manchester City vs Sunderland Confirmed Lineups for December 6
Manchester City Injury and Team News
Rodri: Recovering from a hamstring injury but will not be available for today’s game. A huge loss to City.
Mateo Kovacic: A long-term absentee. Not expected back until the new year.
Nico O’Reilly: The young left-back was a doubt but is available for selection.
Sunderland Injury and Team News
Dennis Cirkin: Has not featured at all this season due to injury. However, he is close to returning. Will not be involved today as building up his match fitness with the U21s as they also play City today.
Habib Diarra: Out due to a groin injury sustained against Aston Villa in September. Expected back this month and could be available for the derby clash against Newcastle. However, it is a race against time.
Leo Hjelde: Still building up his match fitness and like Dennis Cirkin, with the U21s. Is available but unlikely to be needed or risked
Aje Alese: Out. Missing since January, but has returned to training.
Manchester City Confirmed Lineup
Will appear here soon
Sunderland Confirmed Lineup
Will appear here soon
Regis Le Bris “Let’s Give Our Best”
Sunderland head coach Regis Le Bris spoke ahead of the trip to the Etihad Stadium. He said: “It’s another tough challenge, but an exciting one once again. This league is like that. You don’t have time to recover. Switch on and let’s go again. Looking forward to playing this game. We are building our confidence through different experiences.
Our knowledge, our collective knowledge as well is positive. But now Manchester City are probably one of the best teams in this league with the ball. So we know the pitch is big and we know that we’ll face one of the toughest challenges this season. So let’s recover properly, quickly and give our best.”
Pep Guardiola Hoping His Team Have Learnt Lessons
Speaking ahead of the home game against Sunderland, City boss Pep Guardiola spoke about recent games and how he is hoping that his team have learnt lessons. He said: “It’s forgotten. Good learnings, hopefully, but it’s forgotten.
“In the Premier League, in modern football, at all the clubs, you have to learn from what happens in the good things and bad things and think of the next one. Of course I’m concerned. We try to understand what happened, to not concede the goals.
“With the three goals (scored) against Leeds, and the five goals against Fulham you can see the two versions, right? So, always we have done many good things. But how many shots on target had Leeds? Three? Scored two. It’s not bad.
Featured image courtesy of IMAGO / Action Plus