Manchester City, fresh from creating history, becoming the first team to win the Premier League title four times in a row, will now have to shift focus onto the FA Cup final where arch-rivals Manchester United lay waiting to try and temper the celebratory mood in the blue half of the city to an extent.
United have not been anywhere near their best for quite some time now but did end the season on a winning note and will be raring to cause an upset at Wembley on Saturday. They do possess the fire-power to halt City’s rampage mode in case the Sky Blues slip-up and Ten Hag will look to get his team ready to do exactly that.
MANCHESTER CITY EARLY TEAM NEWS
Ederson is likely to remain out given he is recovering from a fractured eye-socket.
Pep Guardiola is otherwise expected to have a full contingent of players to choose from.
PREDICTED MAN CITY LINEUP vs MANCHESTER UNITED (4-1-4-1)
DEFENCE
Stefan Ortega has been immense in Ederson’s short absence and will continue guarding City’s goal even if the Brazilian recovers from an eye injury given he has been the team’s designated FA Cup keeper.
Pep is unlikely to tinker too much with his winning formula.
Kyle Walker is expected to start at right-back in the Man City lineup while Josko Gvardiol, who is in red-hot form, will be the left-back.
Nathan Ake and Manuel Akanji have been more than decent for the Sky Blues recently but Pep could once again go with the duo of Ruben Dias and Akanji in central defence in the Man City lineup.
MIDFIELD
The ever-present and ever-dependable Rodri will be stationed in central midfield. The Spaniard will act as the glue between the ball carrying defenders and the advanced midfielders. He has been unbeaten in 50 games for City now and the fans will hope the streak doesn’t end anytime soon.
Kevin de Bruyne and Kovacic could act as the two No.8s. The Croatian midfielder was not picked for the West Ham game but the control he offers in tight spaces and his dribbling skills could come in handy against a relatively higher quality side like Manchester United.
ATTACK
Bernardo Silva is likely to be stationed on the right-flank in the Man City lineup and it could well end up being the final game for the Spanish wizard in Sky Blue colours given he has been looking for a literal change of scenery for quite some time now.
In case Kovacic starts, Phil Foden could find himself on the left flank. While not his preferred position, he has more than enough quality to make a mark on proceedings while not in the central areas as well.
Erling Haaland will lead the line as usual and will be licking his chops ahead of facing one of his favoured opposition.
