Manchester City have their biggest match of the season ahead of them on Sunday.
For their first Premier League meeting of the campaign, City take on Liverpool at Anfield after both sides featured in midweek Champions League matches.
While City’s 3-3 draw with Feyenoord was described as an “absolute disaster” by Alan Shearer, Arne Slot’s side managed to beat Real Madrid 2-0 in front of their home crowd.
With the two teams now set to face off against each other, the Blues have the chance to cut the gap between the Merseyside club at the top of the league table to five points.
Glancing ahead to this big clash, let’s take a look at what City’s starting XI could look like on this occasion and what changes Pep Guardiola could make from the Feyenoord draw.
Man City predicted starting XI vs Liverpool
Starting off in goal, even though he didn’t cover himself in glory in midweek, especially by rushing out of his goal and failing to subdue Feyenoord’s attacking move that led to their third goal, it still seems likely that Ederson will keep his place in the team.
At right-back, having been an unused substitute in midweek, Kyle Walker could be in line for a return to try and handle Liverpool’s dangerous attack at the potential expense of Rico Lewis.
For the two centre-back role, Ruben Dias will hopefully be fit enough to start after his recent injury absence.
Next to Dias, Manuel Akanji will likely remain in the XI in the hope that he can help City do something rare and keep a clean sheet.
At left-back, Guardiola could now make a big decision by taking Josko Gvardiol out of the team after he made even more errors that led to City conceding goals in midweek.
Also, with the £200k-a-week defender featuring in every single game across all competitions this season, his recent string of errors – which Tim Sherwood highlighted about Gvardiol in midweek – could be a result of him needing some time out of the team.
Therefore, Nathan Ake – who has more experience facing off against Mohamed Salah – could be Guardiola’s option on the left.
Moving into midfield, Ilkay Gundogan and Matheus Nunes could be in the team after they delivered goal contributions in midweek and will be hoping to do the same again against Liverpool.
Also in midfield, Kevin De Bruyne may finally be in line to make his first start for City since their 0-0 draw with Inter Milan in September following a difficult injury and fitness battle.
Then for the front three, Guardiola may well stick to his trusted figures in the shape of Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva to play out wide and help City keep as much control of the ball as possible whilst also trying to unlock Liverpool’s tough defence.
Finally, arguably the most likely player in the entire City squad to be in the starting XI on Sunday is Erling Haaland, who will be desperate to help his side do what they’ve only done twice in the Premier League era and secure a win at Anfield.
