Man City predicted XI to face Liverpool - Three changes expected for Guardiola, including Sterling decision

Pep Guardiola has some tough selection decisions to make ahead of Manchester City’s Premier League clash against Liverpool on Sunday.

The top two meet in a potentially title-defining encounter at the Etihad, where a win would see City move four points clear of the Reds with just seven matches remaining.

But Jurgen Klopp already has one major advantage over his old adversary, with Liverpool having the luxury of relying on a much deeper pool of players in the midst of such a fixture-heavy period.

Both sides are still competing in the Champions League and FA Cup and have crammed schedules over April. The pair meet in the semi-finals of the latter competition next Saturday and both face European quarter-final second legs in midweek.

It’s why balancing the squad and keeping everyone fresh has never been more important for Guardiola this season. However, the City manager is working from a relatively small first-team group, one which has only been weakened by the absence of injured stars Ruben Dias and Cole Palmer.

But other than that, there are no fresh injury concerns for Guardiola, who can turn to Kyle Walker for Sunday’s clash, after the defender was suspended for the first-leg win over Atletico Madrid.

Jack Grealish and Phil Foden started on the bench for that game, although both could be recalled at the weekend, which could see Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling dropped for the encounter.

Gabriel Jesus is also an option for Guardiola, and the fact he is suspended in Europe means the Brazilian is more likely to play on Sunday. However, Jesus has fallen out of favour under Guardiola and has not started in the league since New Year’s Day.

With so much going on, there’s a lot for Guardiola to consider, and here’s the XI which we think he’ll start with on Sunday.