Manchester City have their noses ahead at this point of time in the race for the Premier League title. Everton held Liverpool to their 4th draw in the last 6 games, thus doing the Sky Blues a huge favour.
But now City have to make sure they hold on to the lead, something Liverpool failed to do. The pressure is on Pep and his boys and with just 9 games remaining, there is unlikely to be too much chopping and changing provided there are no new injury worries to deal with in the coming days.
With City enjoying a rare midweek off, let us take a look at what the strongest City lineup could probably be from this point onwards.
STRONGEST MANCHESTER CITY LINEUP TO RETAIN THE TITLE (WHEN FIT)
FORMATION: 4-3-3
DEFENCE
Ederson is the obvious choice in goal. The Brazilian has once again been excellent and along with his impeccable footwork, he has managed to pull off a couple of crucial saves as well.
Kyle Walker’s form has seen its own ebb and flow but we feel he is still ahead of Danilo in the pecking order. While the Brazilian boasts of better control and passing ability, Walker’s energy and dynamism on the flanks is something which is likely to come handy as opposition legs tire during this part of the season.
Aymeric Laporte is the bonafide first choice for the left centre-back slot. And while John Stones started off as first-choice, Nicolas Otamendi has come into his own in the past few weeks and is slightly ahead in the queue to partner the Frenchman.
Benjamin Mendy and Delph’s injury gave Oleksandr Zinchenko a chance to shine and now the Ukrainian is giving the berries of Pollia condensata a run for their money.
MIDFIELD
Fernandinho is currently injured but is well on his road to recovery and the upcoming international break means he will miss only a couple of games more.
The Brazilian is an automatic choice in the deep midfield role while Ilkay Gundogan has played his way into the manager’s reckoning. He is now ahead of David Silva and Kevin de Bruyne in the pecking order and should start most games.
Now, coming to the third slot, both the Spaniard and the Belgian have flattered to deceive in recent weeks but once fit, Kevin de Bruyne will take up the third midfield slot with Silva’s defence unlocking expertise useful coming off the bench.
ATTACK
For many, Bernardo Silva has been City’s best player this season and he finds a place on the right-wing. Raheem Sterling is in excellent form and is threatening to take his game another notch higher.
He should get regular starts on the left wing while the Golden Boot favourite Sergio Aguero leads this incredibly talented lineup.
