Manchester City will travel to the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d’Italia to take on Atalanta on Wednesday night hoping to seal a passage through to the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League. The Citizens have won all three of their group games so far and are on the brink of qualification, so Pep Guardiola is expected to name a strong team to face the Italian outfit in midweek.
The Premier League champions are likely to set themselves up in a 4-3-3 formation with Gabriel Jesus, and Riyad Mahrez expected to get a run-out in Guardiola’s first XI.
4-3-3 Manchester City Predicted Lineup To Face Atalanta
Defence
Claudio Bravo could get the nod to start ahead of Ederson as Guardiola is expected to rotate his goalies keeping the weekend’s clash versus Liverpool in mind. Man City might lineup with a centre-back pairing of Eric Garcia and Nicolas Otamendi. Both defenders performed well against Southampton last week so they should be confident enough to keep things tidy at the back in midweek.
Jose Tasende a.k.a. Angelino will get another chance to feature as the left-back as Guardiola might save Benjamin Mendy for the upcoming encounter at Anfield. Joao Cancelo could come back into the side and play as the right-back. The former Juventus talent has put in some impressive displays for Man City this season, so this match could be another opportunity for him to shine for his new employers.
Midfield
The Citizens midfield might be comprised of Tommy Doyle, Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva as they focus on establishing their dominance at the centre of the park. Guardiola is expected to rest Kevin De Bruyne for this encounter while Phil Foden is suspended after being given his marching orders in the reverse fixture last month.
Silva has endured a dip in form in recent matches, so it’s high time he stepped up and made a decisive contribution in the final third. The Man City midfielders would need to stay strong and play their natural game in what could be a hostile atmosphere away in Italy.
Attack
Guardiola might opt for the front three of Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus and Riyad Mahrez as the talented trio links up play together and wreaks havoc in the offensive end of the field. Sterling bagged a hattrick in the reverse meeting at the Etihad Stadium last month so he would hope to replicate a similar match-winning display on Wednesday night.
