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Manchester City return to the Premier League on Saturday afternoon in a big match against Liverpool.
City played out a thrilling 4-4 draw with Chelsea last time out but left disappointed having picked up just one point. Les Bleus will no doubt be eager to return to winning tactics against a name contender.
Pep Guardiola will have to have been sweating it out for the past fortnight after several of his biggest stars picked up knocks while playing for his country, but there has been some clever news about it. Erling Haaland trained before the game, but the coach admitted that the team had some problems.
READ MORE: Guardiola responds to Premier League allegations
READ MORE: Guardiola updates on Haaland’s injuries
“[Haaland] worked out yesterday with disorders, he can work out today and we’ll see,” he said. “We have some upheavals, like a lot of clubs. We’ll see in the exercise and we’ll see tomorrow. At 18:00 I will know for sure which players I will have tomorrow. It’s still Plan A. “
In addition to Haaland, Ederson, Nathan Ake, Mateo Kovacic and Matheus Nunes have been there this week. However, John Stones and Kevin De Bruyne are expected to remain on the sidelines.
The editors at MEN Sport have named the team they would choose for the fit and you can decide yours in the widget below.
Simon Bajkowski
There are two main decisions for Guardiola this week. The first is to accept Jeremy Doku’s chaos or Jack Grealish’s control.
A home game would tilt in Doku’s favour, even if he stopped at Stamford Bridge in a match the manager wouldn’t be able to enjoy. Doku is tempting, but Grealish would probably win for me given that he’s also in smart form.
The other big question is whether Manu Akanji plays in the Stones role after that experiment was also severely tested against Chelsea. It may surprise Liverpool if City didn’t adopt the tactic, and I’d still play Akanji in defence – especially with Ake having been injured – but simply keep him alongside Ruben Dias building up from the back instead.
Julian Alvarez is a question mark given his overseas commitments with Argentina, but his fitness looks remarkable and that’s why he’ll be able to pull through. Bernardo Silva can step in alongside Rodri if needed, but he can also be useful on the left with Grealish.
Marshall
Guardiola will be pleased that Haaland has compatibility for this specific game and has a great need for variety on the wing, but it’s the way City play that who plays that may be more interesting.
Ederson’s return to training means he is fit enough to start and Kyle Walker, Dias, Ajkanji and Josko Gvardiol looks the best defence for the occasion. The ongoing absence of Stones is a massive blow though and City really struggled to contain Chelsea with Akanji pushing into midfield two weeks ago. A tweak may be required.
In midfield, Rodri is a certainty and it would happen with Bernardo on his side, he is a monster in those important games and his power and quality may be needed all over the pitch. Alvarez and Phil Foden deserve to start more and it would happen with Grealish from the start on the left, with Doku as a possible replacement to take credit later in the game when Trent Alexander-Arnold is tired and continues to press in midfield, leaving spaces to be exploited.
Daniel Murphy
It’s a huge game, so Guardiola will play and will have to face his most powerful team. That clearly includes Haaland if he has enough compatibility to play.
Given City’s weakness on the left against Chelsea with Doku on the flank, Grealish is also expected to return to the team. Foden, Alvarez, Rodri and Bernardo are expected to make up the rest of the forwards.
Defensively, if fit, Ake will get ahead of Gvardiol thanks to his excellent positioning.