Manchester City’s quest to defend their Champions League crown continues with a trip to Switzerland as they take on Young Boys on Wednesday.
Pep Guardiola’s Cityzens have made a strong start to their trophy defence in Europe, beating RB Leipzig and Royal Antwerp 3-1 in each game, and put their domestic struggles behind them with a 2-1 victory over Brighton at the weekend.
With a Manchester derby on the horizon, here’s the City team Guardiola may deploy in midweek.
GK: Ederson – A surprise omission from City’s 2-1 victory over Brighton, Guardiola put Ederson’s absence from the starting XI down to his tiring travels with Brazil during the international break.
RB: Kyle Walker – Will be keen to snuff out any brief forays forward from Young Boys with his legendary pace.
CB: Ruben Dias – Came on shortly after Fati’s goal on Saturday, having been left on the bench as City employed their 3-2-4-1 system.
CB: Manuel Akanji – Received his marching orders in the 94th minute on Saturday and is banned for the Manchester derby, so Guardiola may elect to field the Switzerland international in his homeland to avoid any potential injury scares for his other defenders.
LB: Josko Gvardiol – Was tucked infield as part of that formation switch last time out, but Gvardiol may return to a more traditional left-back role here. Has added more snappy tackling to City‘s defence since his summer move.
CM: Rodri – City are undefeated in their last 36 games with Rodri playing. His importance to the side has been overstated of late but it remains as true as ever.
CM: Mateo Kovacic – Will be looking to score for a fourth different team in the Champions League, having previously netted with Dinamo Zagreb, Real Madrid and Chelsea.
RW: Phil Foden – Impressed with his elegant running and pin-point passing against Brighton and should tot up his fifth start in a row at club level.
AM: Julian Alvarez – Dropped deep to great effect on Saturday, opening the scoring in the seventh minute. Already has three goals in the Champions League this season.
LW: Jeremy Doku – The Belgian’s impressive start at City has reduced Jack Grealish’s minutes at the start of the 2023/24 term and that trend may continue in Switzerland.
ST: Erling Haaland – Brought his mini goal drought to an end at the weekend but has another negative run to put a stop to on Wednesday, having not yet scored in Europe this season.
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