Predicted Starting Line-Up: Manchester City vs Liverpool (Premier League) | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola’s men return to domestic action on Sunday evening as the Etihad Stadium prepares to host a clash of titans that is Manchester City vs Liverpool.

Last time out earlier this week, the Sky Blues welcomed Nico Kovac’s high-flying Borussia Dortmund to Manchester in an enthralling UEFA Champions League fixture.

Phil Foden got the home side off to an exceptional start after unleashing a powerful and precise strike from the edge of the box as he caressed the ball into the bottom corner past a helpless Gregor Kobel to give his side the lead with 22 minutes on the clock.

Seven minutes later, things went from bad to worse for Borussia Dortmund as their former talisman Erling Haaland hammered home a Jeremy Doku cross to double City’s lead and make it 21 goals in 18 club appearances this term for the 25-year-old.

Subsequently, just before the hour mark, Foden produced yet another sublime moment of individual brilliance from outside the area as his wand of a left foot found the back of the net to put the hosts into a blissful 3-0 lead.

Die Schwarzgelben refused to give up with Kovac’s hopeful roll of the dice with a quadruple substitution in the second-half. Dortmund were revitalised and found a new lease of life, pressurising the home side much more and forcing them to be tested defensively.

And with this sustained pressure, the German outfit grabbed a goal back on 72 minutes via Waldemar Anton after an intelligently worked set-piece.

This goal proved purely trivial, though, as in added time Rayan Cherki made another substitute cameo count, as his effort found the bottom right corner with help from a slight deflection by former Liverpool man Emre Can, securing three vital points for Pep Guardiola and Manchester City – a just reward for such an impeccable performance.

Now though, all eyes turn to a mammoth league face-off, a fierce top-of-the-table rivalry in recent years, always one to mark down in the footballing calendar: Manchester City vs Liverpool.

Here’s how we think Pep Guardiola will arrange his Manchester City team sheet for the immeasurably important face-off:

Predicted XI

In goal, who else but the imperious, ever-present Gianluigi Donnarumma, whose exceptional shot-stopping ability and towering presence in his own 18-yard box will no doubt be needed on Sunday given the Reds’ star-studded front line?

Starting off the back four, Matheus Nunes is predicted to be the selected right-back, with the Portuguese looking set to make his sixth successive league start for the Blues. The number 27 has continued to grow and develop into his new defensive role that was once foreign to him, and he certainly looks to have improved massively and has excelled in recent weeks.

At the heart of the defence, we predict Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol to bar the door of Gianluigi Donnarumma and Manchester City’s goal, as the pairing complement each other perfectly.

Gvardiol’s pace and power to recover if needed and Dias’ robust style and willingness to put his body on the line whatever the cost are exactly what the residents of the Etihad need in the backline for this face-off against Arne Slot’s Liverpool.

Completing the defence, budding starlet Nico O’Reilly looks to be another player to hold down his starting position from last weekend. Pep Guardiola has not been provided with a reason to not pick the youngster as of yet; his immense stature and physical prowess make him resolute defensively, whilst he is also capable of having an impact at the other end of the pitch.

O’Reilly has proven himself to be an excellent player through impressive performances this season and deserves the start on Sunday. Moving into midfield, another player who looks to be improving with every passing week, Nico Gonzalez, is expected to play the role of defensive midfielder.

Given his lack of minutes early on in his City career, there was huge scepticism regarding his signing, but this season, since Rodri’s injury fragility, the former Porto man has shown he is more than capable of filling in for the Ballon d’Or winner and performing at the very highest level.

His work ethic and ability on and off the ball make him perfect for Sunday’s starting XI, especially because it looks as if Rodri has been ruled unlikely to feature. Alongside the Spaniard, Tijjani Reijnders is also predicted to play a role in the City engine room against Arne Slot’s side.

The Netherlands international has struggled to impact games at times this campaign, but he looked back to his best in midweek, providing two assists on the biggest stage in club football, the UCL, so a player with as complete a profile and such a vast and versatile skillset seems a must-have in the midfield this weekend.

In the number 10 role, after his exquisite performance against Borussia Dortmund, making it three goal contributions in his last two games in all competitions, Phil Foden should complete Pep Guardiola’s midfield, as the goalscoring prowess of the Englishman is simply too powerful a weapon to ignore.

In the frontline, City’s newest star to step into the limelight, Rayan Cherki, should operate off the right. The 22-year-old has been nothing short of outstanding in his limited minutes so far and has produced five goal contributions in his last three games in all competitions.

The vision and the creativity of the number 10 are of an absurdly high standard, and the Blues will definitely utilise this invaluable asset. Off the left, Jeremy Doku is predicted to be given the nod by Guardiola, as the Belgian’s electrifying pace, dynamism and 1v1 capabilities will prove a real test for whoever Liverpool elect to start at right back on the weekend.

And finally, to lead the line, who else but the unstoppable Erling Haaland, already with a staggering 13 league goals in just 10 games, the only City player to score more than one in the division, as the Norwegian machine is now the Premier League top scorer, seven ahead of the multitude of players behind him on six.

With his otherworldly numbers, Haaland is almost certain to be in from the start on Sunday.

Starting XI: Donnarumma; Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly; Nico, Reijnders, Foden; Cherki, Haaland, Doku.

Substitutes: Trafford, Lewis, Stones, Ake, Ait-Nouri, Bernardo, Bobb, Savinho, Marmoush.