Manchester City’s quest to retain the FA Cup continues on Tuesday night as they travel to Kenilworth Road to face Luton Town in the fifth round.
Pep Guardiola’s side recorded a 5-0 victory over Huddersfield Town in the third round of the competition on January 7 before beating Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 on their travels two weeks later. They come into this game off the back of a narrow 1-0 away win over Bournemouth on Saturday in the Premier League.
The Sky Blues are now preparing to take on more Premier League opposition in the form of Luton, who lost 4-1 to Liverpool at Anfield in the league last week.
Manchester City Team News
Only Josko Gvardiol remains out with an ankle problem for Manchester City. Jack Grealish was an unused substitute against Bournemouth on Saturday and could return to the Man City lineup in midweek.
Predicted Man City lineup vs Luton Town (3-2-4-1)
Goalkeeper
Stefan Ortega is expected to be handed a spot in goal after starting Man City’s last two FA Cup ties. Having kept clean sheets in respective wins over Huddersfield Town and Tottenham, he will be raring to shut up shop as quickly as possible against Luton.
Defence
Pep Guardiola is certain to ring in changes to the side that started against Bournemouth on Saturday, with Kyle Walker likely to come into the starting XI after being an unused substitute. The experienced England international could take Nathan Ake’s place in a back three, joining the likes of Ruben Dias and Manuel Akanji in the Man City lineup.
The aforementioned trio must match Luton’s physicality and set-piece prowess if they intend to keep a clean sheet at Kenilworth Road.
Midfield
Mateo Kovacic could partner Rodri in the middle of the park and dictate the tempo of play for the visitors. Having played the full game against Bournemouth, John Stones is expected to be given a breather in midweek.
Matheus Nunes will be pushing to start again after enjoying 63 minutes of action at the Vitality Stadium. The Portuguese could operate alongside Julian Alvarez as advanced midfielders, tasked with unlocking the Luton backline.
Oscar Bobb remains in contention to start out wide on the left in the Man City lineup, with Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku vying to make an impact off the bench. Guardiola may deploy Bernardo Silva off the right, with Phil Foden potentially earning a rest.
Kevin de Bruyne, who came off the bench for the last 10 minutes against Bournemouth, should be among the substitutes once again.
Attack
Erling Haaland should lead the Man City attack, hoping to combine well with City’s creative players and get on the scoresheet against Luton. Having not scored in the 1-0 win over Bournemouth, the big Norwegian will be desperate to get on the scoresheet in midweek.