Manchester City predicted starting XI for Premier League clash with Tottenham - with these key changes

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has several options to choose from ahead of Saturday’s Premier League clash with Tottenham Hotspur.

The Spaniard has confirmed in his press conference on Friday that Jack Grealish is a doubt for the game due to a calf problem, while Gabriel Jesus and Cole Palmer will be assessed during their training session that day.

City come into the fixture off the back of a 5-0 win over Sporting Lisbon in their Champions League Round of 16 first-leg tie on Tuesday. Riyad Mahrez, Bernanrdo Silva (twice), Phil Foden and Raheem Sterling were on the scoresheet for the Sky Blues.

Here is a look at how City could line-up against Norwich at the Etihad Stadium.

Goalkeeper

It is almost a certainty that Ederson will maintain his place between the sticks on Saturday, with the Brazilian having 14 clean sheets so far this season.

The Sky Blues’ no.31 is Guardiola’s first choice for Premier League games, featuring in all but one of their 25 games in the competition, so expect to see him back in goal.

Defence

Guardiola’s favoured centre-back pairing of Ruben Dias and Aymeric Laporte returned against Sporting after the latter sat out the club’s league victory over Norwich City on 12 February.

John Stones filled in at right-back on Tuesday following Kyle Walker’s suspension for City in Europe. However, he faces competition on the right side of defence from the latter who is a regular for the club there.

At left-back, Joao Cancelo returned to the position against Lisbon and has been first choice in that position this campaign with Oleksandr Zinchenko and Nathan Ake also featuring there.

Midfield

Guardiola will likely continue to line-up in a 4-3-3 formation, due to Jesus’ potential absence, though 4-2-3-1 is also an option on Saturday.

The Catalan has plenty of players to utilise in centre-midfield, including Kevin De Bruyne, Rodri, Bernardo Silva, Fernandinho, Ilkay Gundogan, James McAtee and Phil Foden.

However, the latter has been used mainly as a winger or false-9 in a front three this season.

Attack

The use of a false-9 has been implemented significantly by Guardiola this campaign with Grealish, Foden and Sterling all playing in the role. It’s likely that this will occur against Spurs as well due to Jesus being unavailable.

The wide positions are also up for debate, especially after Mahrez’s goal against Sporting - his fourth in as many games, while Sterling started his third consecutive game for the Sky Blues on Tuesday and has been in fine form since, netting four times.

Predicted XI: Ederson; Walker, Laporte, Dias, Cancelo; De Bruyne, Rodri, Silva; Mahrez, Foden, Sterling.

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