Manchester City have made their way to Lyon, France to face Olympique Lyonnaise. A win in this game will ensure top spot for them but a loss will leave the door slightly open for Hoffenheim and Lyon to overtake them in the remaining games.
The Premier League champions are firing on all cylinders in the league and will want to wrap up qualification to the next round in the UCL tomorrow. Lyon shocked the Sky Blues in their opening game and will back themselves to cause another upset in their own backyard.
TEAM NEWS
Pep Guardiola will miss a number of his first-team stars. Claudio Bravo, Kevin de Bruyne and Benjamin Mendy are long-term absentees but he has been handed a triple blow for tomorrow’s game. Bernardo Silva has failed to recover in time for the European encounter while the duo of Ilkay Gundogan and Gabriel Jesus haven’t travelled with the squad. Both were involved against West Ham United but picked up minor issues and hence were not risked.
So that is potentially 5 outfield players who would have expected to start the game if they were fit. This is certainly a challenge for the Sky Blues but Pep has faith in his available players who are more than capable of stepping up to the plate.
PREDICTED MANCHESTER CITY LINEUP VS LYON (4-3-3)
DEFENCE
Ederson will start in goal. He has taken his distribution to another level and will be vital once again.
Kyle Walker will be at right back with Fabian Delph likely to continue on the left. Zinchenko will be pushing for a start though, with Delph a possibility in midfield.
Aymeric Laporte will retain his place while Otamendi is expected to be replaced by John Stones at right centre-back.
MIDFIELD
Fernandinho will again start as the deep-lying midfielder. He didn’t have the best game against Lyon in the reverse fixture but has found his rhythm and is in fine form at the moment. David Silva has scored in 3 consecutive UCL appearances and will want to make it 4 in a row.
The third midfield slot is likely to see an interesting name tomorrow. After Kevin and Ilkay, Foden is considered as the next in line by many and we expect him to get a start.
ATTACK
A rest for Sergio Aguero is out of the question after Jesus was ruled out through injury. He will lead the attack once again in all likelihood. Riyad Mahrez should start on the right with Raheem Sterling possibly shifting onto the left despite Leroy Sane’s MOM performance on Saturday.
