Manchester City will entertain Southampton at the Etihad on Wednesday night, hoping to pick up a win and bounce back to their winning ways in the Premier League. The Citizens will be heading into the contest on the back of a shambolic 2-0 defeat to Manchester United, whereas the Saints registered a tidy 2-0 victory over Sheffield United on Saturday.
Pep Guardiola will probably opt for the 4-3-3 formation several tweaks from the last game. Fernandinho might get the nod over Rodri, whereas Aymeric Laporte looks likely to make his way back into the starting eleven.
4-3-3 Manchester City Predicted Lineup Vs Southampton
Defence
Ederson Moraes will continue to operate in between the sticks for the upcoming home encounter. Having shipped just six goals over the last thirteen league matches, the Brazilian shot-stopper will be hoping to add to the tally of his clean sheets this week.
Aymeric Laporte will replace John Stones to form the centre-half partnership with Ruben Dias at the heart of Citizens’ backline.
Kyle Walker will start at the right-back position, whereas Joao Cancelo will fill in on the other flank as the left-back. As a result, Oleksandr Zinchenko will have to be content with a spot on the City bench.
Midfield
Fernandinho will replace Rodri to feature in the holding midfield position and be assigned more of a defensive role to shield the home side’s back-four.
Ilkay Gundogan will slot into the central midfield role, whereas Kevin de Bruyne is expected to start in the attacking midfield position. The former has been in blistering form lately, often scoring for fun, and after a disappointing Manchester Derby, he’d be eager to impress on Wednesday.
Phil Foden will have to settle for a place on the bench but might come on in the latter stages of the game if called upon.
Attack
Ferran Torres and Bernardo Silva will take up the wide positions, playing on the left and right-wing respectively.
Sergio Aguero is expected to lead the line for the hosts against Southampton. The veteran striker will be hoping to find the back of the net when he faces off against the Southampton defence that has kept just one clean sheet in their last five Premier League games.
Gabriel Jesus might be brought on in the second forty-five minutes of the contest if needed.
