Manchester City will be looking to go top of the Premier League table on Saturday lunchtime when they take on Leicester City at the King Power Stadium.
Having trailed Arsenal for most of the early stages of the new season, Pep Guardiola’s side have the chance to top the table by a point ahead of the Gunners’ game with Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
The early kick-off sees the Premier League champions take on a Leicester side who are only just regaining some sort of form, having won three out of their last five matches.
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Prior to that, the Foxes managed to win just one of the 21 points available to them, explaining their current position of 17th in the Premier League table.
Manchester City themselves have been in erratic form of late, winning just one out of their last four games, with their most recent match - an away, midweek trip to Borussia Dortmund - ending in a goalless stalemate.
Ahead of the clash at the King Power Stadium on Saturday afternoon, here is how we predict Manchester City to line-up amid a few notable fitness issues to contend with!
Predicted Team
Ederson will return to his regular place in goal, despite a great performance from back-up keeper Stefan Ortega Moreno on his Champions League debut for the club in Germany this week.
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With Kyle Walker still injured, Manuel Akanji is likely to perform the right-back role once again, after doing so in previous games against the likes of Manchester United and Brighton.
Both John Stones and Aymeric Laporte have recently returned from injuries so it may be unlikely that either start the game with a dead rubber against Sevilla on the horizon.
The European clash may be at a better pace for recovery than the upcoming match in the Midlands, and therefore the highly impressive Nathan Ake could be called upon by Pep Guardiola.
Arguably Manchester City’s most undroppable defender, Ruben Dias will be tasked with managing the back line once again, with several pacy attacking threats to look out for in the Leicester side.
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At left-back, a case can be made for Sergio Gomez - who missed the midweek match due to a suspension.
But it is far more likely that Joao Cancelo will start the match, allowing the Spaniard to play in Wednesday’s clash versus Sevilla.
There will be no arguments over Rodri starting another game in the engine room for the Premier League champions, especially given Kalvin Phillips is still out injured, albeit well on the road to recovery.
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Manchester City’s star man Kevin De Bruyne was rested in Dortmund, and down to this as well as his unbelievable quality, it is a shoo-in that the Belgian starts against Leicester.
City’s very own workhorse, Bernardo Silva, will also be in the attacking midfield areas alongside De Bruyne, as captain Ilkay Gundogan played the full game against his former side on Tuesday night.
Jack Grealish was rested until the 81st minute in Germany and after some impressive performances in the league, could be given a start at left wing at the King Power Stadium upon his return to the Midlands.
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After his penalty miss and overall poor showing against Borussia Dortmund, Riyad Mahrez will likely be rested this weekend, and Phil Foden - who is enjoying a spectacular run of form with six goals scored already domestically - can assume the right wing position.
Although it has been reported that Erling Haaland suffered a small foot injury and had a case of fever during Manchester City’s German excursion, it is still probable he will start against Leicester ahead of Julian Alvarez, should he even only manage around 75% fitness in the run-up to the game.
It is then more likely that the Norwegian forward will play no role in Wednesday’s dead rubber group stage Champions League game against Sevilla. This is only furthered by the striker's lack of involvement at the ever looming World Cup next month, meaning it is very likely that Pep Guardiola takes the risk and starts his top goalscorer on Saturday, should he prove a sufficient level of fitness in the hours leading up to the game.
Predicted Team: Ederson; Manuel Akanji, Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake, Joao Cancelo; Rodri, Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne; Phil Foden, Erling Haaland, Jack Grealish.
Substitutes: Stefan Ortega Moreno, Rico Lewis, John Stones, Aymeric Laporte, Sergio Gomez, Ilkay Gundogan, Cole Palmer, Riyad Mahrez, Julian Alvarez.
Topics: Erling Haaland, Nathan Ake, Premier League, Manchester City, Leicester City, Football
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Edward Burnett