The Citizens eased past Arsenal in their first match since the halt of the Premier League with goals from Sterling, Kevin De Bruyne and Foden. Next, they face Burnley in the league, and although they cannot claim to play for the title anymore, they still have their reputation on the line.
Eric Garcia suffered a horrible injury colliding with Ederson, and the young defender is sure to miss out this encounter. Apart from the 19-year-old, Pep otherwise has a full squad to choose from, and we could expect the Spaniard to make several changes in the team keeping in mind the congested schedule.
Predicted Manchester City lineup versus Burnley
Defence
The collision with Garcia must have taken a toll on him mentally, but Ederson should get past that and be ready to take up the challenge when he would again be under the sticks for the Manchester City goal.
Laporte and Otamendi are the natural choices for the manager at the heart of the defence. We have already seen the aversion of Pep to field Stones, and thus we believe that in the latter stages of the match, he would ask Fernandinho to replace one among them.
Mendy should again be the natural choice on the left side, although Zinchenko is a strong contender this time around. Kyle Walker is slated to take his usual place at the right-back.
Midfield
After his impressive performance last time around, Foden could be in the starting eleven in this encounter. The other two places can go to De Bruyne and Rodri. Pep’s knack of rotating the players may see Gündoğan sit out on the bench for this one as the German had been fielded for the entire duration of the game last time around. Bernardo Silva was called into action in the previous match, and he did decently after coming onto the field. Even this time around we may see Portuguese plying his trade from the right in the late stages of the match.
Forward
Sergio Aguero should be on the field from the starting whistle as Jesus was entrusted with the attacking responsibilities the last time around. Although Sterling initially displayed some jitters in the previous match, eventually the Englishman came good. He opened the scoring for his team, meaning we could see him even this time around. The other spot in the forward line should be a toss-up between Sane and Mahrez, but again our bet is on the young German, knowing Pep’s desire to give everyone a chance. With the manager confirming that he will not extend his contract, this might be one of the last games for Sane in City colours.
