Manchester City will hope to get back to winning ways when they face Nottingham Forest on Tuesday night in the Premier League.
The champions haven’t won any of their last six games and have lost their last four in the Premier League - both of which are the worst runs of Pep Guardiola’s tenure. The Catalan has spoken about the need to find just one win in the club’s current run of form and is certainly not focusing on the bigger picture at this stage of the season.
“To think of the big targets would be a big mistake,” he said ahead of the game. “We have to beat a team that is close to us to be close to us to take advantage of them, to be close to the top four. That is the target and in November we will see what happens. We will try to win games.”
Meanwhile, Guardiola also insisted that if City’s full squad had been available all season then the team would have played at a similar level to last season. Incredibly, the Blues are currently fifth in the table, just a place behind Forest.
In Tuesday’s press conference the manager confirmed that John Stones remains absent, while Kevin De Bruyne’s fitness is improving. Elsewhere, Mateo Kovacic, Rodri and Oscar Bobb are still injured, but Guardiola does have a few options should he wish to rotate.
With that in mind, here’s how we think the team will line-up against Forest, with three changes from the XI that lined up at Liverpool…
5. LB: Josko Gvardiol
Dropped against Liverpool but likely to return to the side in place of Nathan Ake. Gvardiol made two mistakes in each of the last two games but Guardiola defended the Croat who has been mainly consistent since signing for the club.
6. DM: Ilkay Gundogan
With Kovacic and Rodri out, Gundogan is most likely option to start at the base of midfield. The German was another who was well off the pace at Anfield.
7. CM: Bernardo Silva
Silva's energetic presence could see him selecting against Forest, while Guardiola will likely rely on his experienced players during the current run.
8. CM: Jack Grealish
Guardiola said after the Liverpool game that Grealish could be an option the middle, and we've tipped him to start there against Forest.