Man City were knocked out of the FA Cup last weekend by Chelsea but Pep Guardiola’s side managed to get back to winning way by beating Aston Villa in the Premier League in midweek.
Both the sides played a large part of the match with 10 men and City were eventually able to come out with a 2-1 win, thereby maintaining their 11 point lead at the top of the table.
Now, they must shift their focus out of the league as they will face Tottenham Hotspur in the EFL Cup final on Sunday. This is City’s first chance to win a silverware this season and with Jose Mourinho gone, Guardiola will be licking his lips at the prospect of beating Spurs.
Man City have been in stellar form this season and barring that loss to Chelsea, they have not done too much wrong. And with Spurs in managerial turmoil, we expect the Citizens to go into Sunday’s encounter as the favourites to win.
Man City team news vs Spurs:
John Stones picked up a red card against Villa in midweek so he will be unavailable thereby allowing Aymeric Laporte will come into central defence alongside Ruben Dias.
Walker will keep his place from the midweek game but Zinchenko should make way for Joao Cancelo at left-back.
Rodri and Fernandinho started in midfield against Chelsea and it turned out to be a disaster for Man City. So it’s safe to say, Pep Guardiola will not be making that mistake anytime soon and Rodri will be partnered by Ilkay Gundogan in the middle of the pitch on Sunday.
Guardiola was full of praise for Phil Foden after the Aston Villa game and with Kevin De Bruyne out with an injury, the youngster could be used as a No 10 this weekend.
Kevin De Bruyne is still recovering from an ankle injury and the manage has now claimed that the Belgian international is in contention to play against Spurs. But we doubt if the manager will want to risk using him.
If Foden is used as a playmaker, the Man City boss will then have the chance to use both Bernardo Silva and Riyad Mahrez in the attacking roles.
Raheem Sterling, at one time, was one of the first names in Pep Guardiola’s teamsheet but the England international has clearly fallen down the pecking order in the previous few months. We doubt if he will get to start to or not.
Sergio Aguero remains sidelined with a few injury issues so it will be Gabriel Jesus who will lead the line against Spurs in the final.
How Man City could line up vs Spurs:
Possible Starting Line-up: Ederson; Laporte, Ruben Dias, Cancelo, Walker; Rodri, GUndogan, Phil Foden; Bernardo Silva, Riyad Mahrez, Gabriel Jesus.
Injury updates via Premier Injuries.
