Manchester City vs Sunderland confirmed lineups
Manchester City vs Sunderland confirmed lineups
Last Word on Football brings you the team news and the confirmed lineups ahead of the Manchester City vs Sunderland EPL clash at the Etihad Stadium. Kickoff 2 pm GMT.
City will be favourites to extend their lead at the top of the table following Arsenal’s defeat at Brighton on Saturday; however, they are unlikely to have it all their own way against a Sunderland side who can beat anyone on their day and are on a high following their Europa League win in midweek.
Manchester City vs Sunderland: Team News and Confirmed Lineups for September 20
Manchester City Team News
Phil Foden's red card at Manchester United
Phil Foden of Manchester City looks on after getting sent off during Man U vs Man City – Credit IMAGO / Sportimage
Out: Phil Foden – Suspended
Doubt: Jeremy Doku – Calf injury
City Will Need to Be at Their Best
Head coach Enzo Maresca insists his team will need to be at 100% is they are to win on Sunday. He said: “I know how strong they are, and I have the feeling that on Sunday we need a top performance to beat them, and we need to be 100% to win the game.
“I watched the game live against Arsenal, and then I watched again the last two days. If you watch the game, you can realize how strong they are. I think personally that they didn’t deserve to lose that game.
“But again, they are very strong, very well coached from their manager.
Sunderland Team News
Out: Reinildo (Suspended), Habib Diarra (Hamstring), Romaine Mundle (Knee), Juan Riquelme Angulo (Unavailable).
Depth of Squad Important to Regis Le Bris
Regis Le Bris
Regis Le Bris, Manager of Sunderland – Credit IMAGO / Every Second Media
In his pre-match press conference, the Sunderland head coach said that the depth of his squad will prove important. He said: “Arsenal, AZ Alkmaar and now Man City. This is exactly what we want to play and we need to embrace the challenge. We are getting better game by game.
“We made four changes for AZ Alkmaar and we have the option to make more against Manchester City.
“We’ll need our subs to finish the game too. That’s the reality of this level.”
Manchester City vs Sunderland Confirmed Lineups
Manchester City
Will appear here at 12:45 pm GMT
Sunderland
Will appear here at 12:45 pm GMT
The Last Word: Manchester City vs Sunderland Match Prediction
City will be expected to claim their fifth league win of the season, despite Enzo Maresca claiming that this will be their toughest test so far. And he could be right. On the back of their historic night against AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League, Sunderland will be full of confidence in what many will consider a free hit against a team that has star quality throughout their side.
The Black Cats will no doubt make this an uncomfortable afternoon for their hosts, but City’s firepower should be enough to claim the three points; however, if the Black Cats can find their shooting boots, this may be far from a clear-cut victory for the home side.
Prediction: Manchester City 2-2 Sunderland
Further Reading
Manchester City vs Sunderland Team News and Predicted Lineups
Sunderland vs AZ Alkmaar: This is History and a Deserved Reward
Premier League GW5 Sunday Predictions
Featured image courtesy of IMAGO / Every Second Media