Manchester City will welcome Middlesbrough to the Etihad as they look to carry their momentum obtained from the last two matches to make a final flourish before the international break. City have had a sort of roller coaster ride till now with them being hailed as the runaway winners initially to being touted as being found out by the Premier League. But by what we know of Joseph Guardiola, he will not be paying heed to the so-called pundits and his sole focus will be the betterment of Manchester City. And this City side, a year down the line, seems to be a frightening prospect indeed.
Middlesbrough, though have differing concerns. Karanka has stressed the need for quality throughout the squad in order to guarantee safety in this highly competitive league and most of the work has been done successfully regarding that in the summer transfer window. Boro started off well but after the initial adrenaline passed, they found it difficult to sustain the intensity throughout the matches and were struggling to finish off the games. But they have settled fairly well now and are currently on a decent mini-run with a draw against Arsenal and a 2-0 win over Bournemouth.
Against City, it will be a whole lot different though and first and foremost they will be looking to avoid a rout which might be a possibility if they concede early.
TEAM NEWS
MANCHESTER CITY
Fernandinho is a doubt after picking up a knock while Delph is still out of contention after undergoing surgery in Barcelona. Bacary Sagna will return after the international break while Yaya Toure is still not considered for selection.
MIDDLESBROUGH
Middlesbrough are bolstered by the return from injury of Cristhian Stuani and Marten de Roon.
Dani Ayala remains a doubt because of an ankle injury, while Gaston Ramirez is suspended.
PREDICTED LINE-UPS
MANCHESTER CITY
Bravo; Zabaleta, Kompany, Stones, Kolarov; Fernando; De Bruyne, Gundogan; Silva, Sterling; Aguero
MIDDLESBROUGH (4-1-4-1)
Valdes; Barragan, Chambers, Gibson, Friend; Clayton; Forshaw, De Roon; Traore, Downing; Negredo
KEY MEN
MANCHESTER CITY
SERGIO AGUERO
The Argentine has roared back to form with excellent displays against West Bromwich Albion and Barcelona last week. He has been the subject of intense speculation with his future at the club being called into question multiple times. But Kun will look to do what he does best. That is, bang in the goals in a Sky Blue shirt. Middlesbrough will be wary of him along with the host of attacking players Pep utilises on the field and if Boro are to cause any sort of upset, he needs to be shackled.
MIDDLESBROUGH
ALVARO NEGREDO
The other half of the once successful strike partnership with Aguero will be on the opposite side of the field this time around. Negredo will have fond memories of his start to life in England where he formed one of the deadliest strike-force along with Sergio Aguero. But this time around he will be trying his best to score in City’s net and give his team the best chance to take something positive from the Etihad.
BETTING ODDS
MANCHESTER CITY-2/9
DRAW-6/1
MIDDLESBROUGH-14/1
