Manchester City will entertain Fulham at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon as they look to pick up another home win in the Premier League. Pep Guardiola’s men thrashed Burnley 5-0 last weekend but were held to a scoreless draw by FC Porto in the UEFA Champions League in midweek.
The Mancunian giants will set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Guardiola expected to revert to his strongest XI for this league showdown against Scott Parker’s men. Gabriel Jesus was rested earlier this week, so he should be fresh to start in this game. However, Sergio Aguero is a significant doubt for this match and will be in a race against time to be fit this weekend.
4-2-3-1 Manchester City Predicted Lineup To Face Fulham
Defence
Ederson will retain his spot in the Man City goal after he secured a clean sheet away at Porto in his last outing. Aymeric Laporte will resume his defensive partnership with Ruben Dias at the centre of Guardiola’s defence as they try to keep things solid at the back and cope with the physical threat of Fulham’s Aleksandar Mitrović throughout the 90 minutes.
Kyle Walker will be a guaranteed starter at right-back while Benjamin Mendy gets another chance to impress on the other flank as the left-back. Guardiola will give them the license to get forward and cause a few problems for the opposition full-backs.
Midfield
Ilkay Gundogan and Rodri will operate as the holding midfielders as they focus on keeping the ball moving at the centre of the park in the hopes of creating some meaningful openings for their teammates in the final third.
The dangerous trio of Raheem Sterling, Kevin De Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez will play just ahead of them as part of the Man City attack. Mahrez managed to grab a hattrick versus the Clarets last weekend which will give him a lot of confidence going into this league clash at the Etihad.
Fernandinho and Bernardo Silva will have to be content with a place on the bench but could come on to add some energy to the midfield if Guardiola decides to call upon their services.
Attack
Gabriel Jesus will lead the line for the Mancunian giants up top. The Brazilian striker has failed to register a goal in each of his past three starts, so he will be eager to find the back of the net versus the Cottagers this weekend.
