Manchester City will welcome Everton to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday as they look for another win after returning to Premier League action. The Sky Blues come into the match on the back of an emphatic 3-1 victory against Leeds United away on boxing day, so they will be looking to build on the momentum and produce a similar performance in this home encounter.
Pep Guardiola will probably opt for the 4-3-3 formation and could make a host of changes to the starting XI. Manuel Akanji will drop to the bench making way for Aymeric Laporte in the backline while Phil Foden features from the start in the left-wing position.
4-3-3 Manchester City Predicted XI Vs Everton
Defence
Ederson Moraes will continue to operate in goal looking to secure a clean sheet after conceding a goal in the last outing. As mentioned earlier, Aymeric Laporte will replace Manuel Akanji to form the centre-half partnership with John Stones at the heart of City’s backline.
Nathan Ake will continue at the left-back position, whereas Joao Cancelo will fill in on the other flank as the right-back as Rico Lewis drops to the bench. The full-backs will be expected to stretch the opposition and keep their shape defensively.
Manuel Akanji and Sergio Gomez would have to provide cover from the bench as they wait for an opportunity to feature in the latter half of the game.
Midfield
Rodri will continue in the holding midfield position; he’ll be tasked with shielding the backline and distributing possession to his teammates efficiently.
Kevin De Bruyne remains a guaranteed starter at the central midfield position while Ilkay Gundogan keeps his place at the centre of the park. The duo would be determined to set up some clear-cut goal-scoring chances for the frontmen making forward runs into the opposition backline.
Attack
Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva will take up the wide positions, playing on the left and right wing respectively, trying to cut inside and create chances in front of the goal.
Erling Haaland will continue to lead the charge for the Etihad club this weekend. The Norwegian international will pick up on his excellent run of form trying to find the back of the net once again after netting two the last time out.
Riyad Mahrez and Jack Grealish will take a spot on the bench as they wait for an opportunity to impress in the second half.
