Manchester City are seeking to get back on track by beating Feyenoord in the Champions League.
Pep Guardiola watched his side lose 4-0 against Tottenham Hotspur at the Etihad Stadium, which was their fifth in a row.
James Maddison scored twice in the first-half, with former City full-back Pedro Porro and Brennan Johnson scoring in the second.
Guardiola admitted Man City are ‘fragile defensively’ after the defeat to Spurs, and improvements are the back are badly needed at this moment in time.
City also need to improve in midfield, with Guardiola desperately needing to find a solution to not having Rodri.
Next up for City in the Premier League is Liverpool, but before that, there’s a chance to get back to winning ways against Feyenoord in the Champions League – and here’s an XI we think Guardiola could go with.
Man City predicted XI vs Feyenoord – Kevin De Bruyne gets first start since September
With City currently sitting 10th in the League Phase table, Guardiola will be going as strong as he possibly can against Feyenoord, who are currently fourth in the Eredivisie and 21st in the Champions League.
It is very important City return to winning ways before facing Liverpool and that this awful run comes to an end.
Ederson should therefore keep his place, and we will likely have Kyle Walker, Manuel Akanji, Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake in front of him.
Dias has recovered from the injury he picked up before the international break and will hopefully be fit enough to start the game.
Ake replaced the injured John Stones against Spurs and might come in for Josko Gvardiol, who struggled against Spurs and could perhaps do with a rest.
In midfield, it’s very difficult to predict who’ll play, but Ilkay Gundogan may need to be rested after playing a full game against Spurs.
Matheus Nunes might be tried in midfield, and Kevin De Bruyne is finally pain-free according to Guardiola and might be able to start for the first time since September.
This would be a big ask of Nunes, so it could be that Guardiola instructs Akanji to push into midfield to support the Portuguese when City have the ball.
Phil Foden could also operate in midfield alongside the Belgian, with Nunes deeper.
In attack, Erling Haaland will surely start with City needing to win, and he could get support from Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku, who could start over Savinho. The Brazilian has played a lot of football lately and could be rotated out.
Should this actually be the team Guardiola puts out, then it would mean six changes to the side that started against Spurs.
