Manchester City cruised through to a comfortable victory against Brighton And Hove Albion midweek and are in line to touch the 100 point mark. Pep Guardiola has made this team a dominating force, especially in the Premier League as no team has come close to them in this year’s title race.
However, the mood slightly dampened in the last month as they were shown the door in the Champions League by Liverpool. They were expected to go deep into the tournament and many were touting them as potential champions of Europe. Guardiola will be expected to mount a better challenge next term in Europe’s elite competition.
They will be taking on Southampton in the final weekend who are coming on the back of a crucial victory against Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium. It was all or nothing for the Saints as they knew that would face Manchester City in the last encounter and Southampton had to ensure that they got the victory against the Swans as both teams were level on points before the clash.
Pep Guardiola made 8 changes from the previous encounter against Brighton but it is expected that he will go in with a full-strength side to complete the 100 point haul against the Saints.
Here is how Manchester City might line up.
Formation: (4-3-3)
Defence
Claudio Bravo made a fatal error in a rare start which he got and Ederson will be most likely to replace him for this encounter. The centre-back pairing of Nicolas Otamendi and Vincent Kompany will be expected to start.
Fabian Delph will play down the left and Kyle Walker down the right. Both the fullbacks will be expected to be in the opposition half for most of the game and they will provide overlapping runs for the wingers.
Midfield
The ever-dependable Fernandinho will start in the defensive midfield role. He has been one of the unsung heroes for the Citizens in their campaign. Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva, who were rested in the previous encounter, will be expected to start as well.
Attack
Leroy Sane has had a breakthrough season and has been a revelation down the left. He has tormented defences with his darting runs and it has been pretty tough for the opposing defence to contain him.
Even in a season where he has been plagued by injuries and his game time reduced because of the emergence of Gabriel Jesus, Aguero has managed 30 goals in all competitions and will be expected to start in the final encounter.
Raheem Sterling, who has improved leaps and bounds this season, will play down the right to complete the front three.
