Manchester City blew away the Swiss side in the first leg of this tie hammering 4 past a sorry looking Basel team. Pep’s men have one foot in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League and will look to be professional and finish the job today.
With a fairly comfortable lead coming into the game at Etihad, we expect a host of changes from Pep, his main team having played twice in two days time.
Manchester City will be without Mendy who is out until April and Fernandinho who is yet to return from the hamstring injury he picked up in the Carabao Cup final against Arsenal. David Silva is also expected to miss the action while Sterling is a doubt and is more likely to feature against Stoke City.
The Sky Blues are cruising in the League and have a match against Stoke City on Monday but Pep Guardiola knows the UEFA Champions League all too well and has learnt the uncertain dynamics of the English Premier League to let his players relax on either front.
Here is how we expect City to line-up against Basel. (4-3-3)
Defence
Claudio Bravo could be called up for the first time in the Champions League by Pep, having featured only in the domestic cup competitions this campaign. The two centre-back slots could be taken up by Vincent Kompany who missed out on their last league outing and John Stones who last featured as a substitute against Leicester City in February. We could see Fabian Delph return to the left back position following a prolonged rest due to his 3-match domestic suspension and Danilo back to his favoured right back position.
Midfield
In a midfield three, we expect to see Yaya Toure take part in the game as their deep-lying midfielder along with the duo of Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan. Despite the pair having played a lot in the past few days, Pep will look to finish the game off early and then possibly rotate with his bench.
Attack
Brahim Diaz might get a surprise start on the left while Bernardo Silva will be looking to continue his good form having bagged 2 goals and an assist in his last 4 games. Gabriel Jesus could start a game for City, his last being the 1-2 loss to Shakhtar Donetsk back in December.
