Pep Guardiola could make several changes to his team for the midweek Champions League clash against Copenhagen.
Manchester City won the first leg of the last-16 tie with relative ease and return to the Etihad with a 3-1 advantage ahead of the second meeting at the Etihad. Given Copenhagen have the lowest budget of the remaining sides in the competition and City beat the Danish outfit 5-0 at home when they last met, the Blues are heavy favourites to progress to the quarter-finals.
With a busy fixture schedule it could afford Guardiola the opportunity to rest several important players. City face Manchester United, Copenhagen, Liverpool and Newcastle United in a 13-day period prior to the March international break. City also play Arsenal and Aston Villa when they return in what is a crucial period of the season.
If Guardiola were to rotate, he has plenty of options as Jack Grealish is the only player missing at present through injury. Josko Gvardiol returned to the match-day squad for the weekend win over United, and might be an option to start.
Stefan Ortega, Rico Lewis, Manuel Akanji, Sergio Gomez, Mateo Kovacic, Matheus Nunes, Oscar Bobb and Julian Alvarez also were on the bench for the derby, meaning Guardiola is blessed with plenty of alternatives.
However, the City boss will be wary of making too many changes against a side that have impressed in the Champions League this season and drew 0-0 with City when the sides met in October 2022.
With all that in mind, here’s how we expect City to line-up for the Champions League second leg…
1. GK: Ederson
Ortega could come in, but it feels like a game where Guardiola will stick with his first-choice goalkeeper instead.
2. RB: Rico Lewis
Has started just one of the last 11 but could come in to play and offer Kyle Walker a rare rest.
3. CB: Manuel Akanji
Guardiola is still a little cautious of John Stones playing too many games, so the England international might drop out and Akanji would be the obvious choice to come in.
4. CB: Ruben Dias
Has missed just two games since the turn of the year, against Luton Town and Burnley.