Man City vs Shakhtar Donetsk predicted line up: The starting XI for the Citizens

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Manchester City face Ukrainian Champions Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League this week.

Both the sides got off to a winning start in the Champions League a couple of weeks ago with City beating Dutch Champions emphatically by a margin of 4-0 away from home and Shakhtar getting the better of Sarri’s Napoli side 2-1.

City have been in stunning form but with an away trip to London to face Chelsea at the weekend, Pep Guardiola might want to rest a few of his men.

Here is how the starting line-up is expected to look like:

Goalkeeper:

Ederson – The Brazilian Custodian has had a decent and untroubled start to life in England and will continue to start for the Blues.

Defence:

Kyle Walker – The marauding full-back is important to Guardiola’s gameplan and will be expected to light up the right side. He will have to be wary of Shakhtar’s pacy wingers too.

John Stones – Slowly starting to show why City paid the exorbitant fee for him. Featuring very regularly this season and must do so again.

Vincent Kompany – The Belgian could make his return against the Ukrainians if he declared fit, as Guardiola might want to give him some game time before the crunch Chelsea game.

Danilo – Mendy picked up a knee injury against Crystal Palace and even if he passes the late fitness test, Guardiola may wanna rest him before the weekend’s game.

Midfield:

Yaya Toure – The Ivorian will start ahead of Fernandinho in order to rest the latter for the Chelsea game.

Kevin De Bruyne – No rest for this man as he is the one who keeps City ticking.

Fabian Delph – His goal against Palace might get him a start in the Champions League. David Silva has played for long periods this season and could be given a break.

Attack:

Raheem Sterling – The Englishman has been in fine touch scoring 5 in the League already. Was withdrawn early against Palace most likely to preserve him for this game.

Bernardo Silva – The former AS Monaco man has not yet kick-started his City career but he will look to take his chance in the Champions League.

Gabriel Jesus – Rested against Palace and should be back fully fresh for this one. The onus of getting the goals might fall on him completely as Pep might decide to rest Sergio Aguero for the weekend fixture against the Champions.

Here is how the expected setup will look like during the Man City vs Shakhtar Donetsk match:

Man City vs Shakhtar Donetsk predicted line up
Man City vs Shakhtar Donetsk predicted line up