Manchester City will have to make at least one change from their last Premier League outing, when they travel to Brighton & Hove Albion on Thursday.
By then, there will have been a 12-day gap in between the 5-1 win over Luton Town and the clash at the Amex, albeit City have played in the Champions League and FA Cup since then.
Erling Haaland sustained a muscular injury in last week’s penalty shootout defeat to Real Madrid and had to sit out the win over Chelsea at Wembley as a result. Pep Guardiola confirmed in his pre-match press conference that City’s no.9 is still absent, meaning Julian Alvarez is likely to play up top at Brighton.
But other than that it's a fully fit squad for City, although Guardiola did express his concern at the fixture scheduling at the weekend and the impact of fatigue on his players. Therefore, it’s likely that he could freshen up his side on Thursday.
“I don't know what rotate means,” Guardiola said in his pre-match press conference. “Players deserve to play and everyone has their contribution. Now we had three or four days, the last game against Chelsea and tomorrow is one of the toughest games of the season. Brighton away in my calendar is one of the toughest ones for the way we play.”
Ederson, Rico Lewis, Josko Gvardiol, Mateo Kovacic and Mathues Nunes were all unused substitutes at the weekend and could come back into the team at the Amex. But how will the XI shape up? Here’s our pre-match prediction…
1. GK: Ederson
Dropped out of the team at the weekend for the FA Cup semi-final but should return for the Premier League encounter.
2. RB: Rico Lewis
Kyle Walker played 210 minutes last week after returning from injury, so might drop out at Brighton. If so, Lewis is the likely option to come in.
3. CB: John Stones
Was declared fit by Guardiola and his selection could afford Manuel Akanji a rare rest.
4. CB: Ruben Dias
Only played 45 minutes at the weekend and should be one of the fresher City defenders.