Manchester City make the trip to Craven Cottage for today’s late Premier League kick-off against Fulham.
The Cityzens returned to winning ways in midweek with a convincing 5-2 win over Southampton, and they are now 14 points ahead of second-placed Manchester United.
They have the opportunity to extend their significant lead at the top against the Cottagers, whom they have beaten in the previous 10 meetings across all competitions.
Formation: 4-3-3
Predicted Line-up:
Ederson has failed to keep a clean sheet for four matches. He is still leading the Golden Glove race with 15 clean sheets, one ahead of Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez, who missed out on a shutout yesterday after conceding a 94th-minute equaliser to Newcastle United.
In the backline, there may be a couple of changes. Ruben Dias and John Stones have been the regular central defensive pairing, but Pep Guardiola has recently rotated his options with the tight schedule.
Stones was given a break in midweek, with Aymeric Laporte replacing him. The England international is likely to return for this game, with Dias potentially getting a breather ahead of the Champions League tie against Borussia Monchengladbach.
Kyle Walker is likely to keep his place at right-back, but there could be a change on the opposite side with Joao Cancelo replacing Oleksandr Zinchenko. Cancelo had a poor Manchester derby last weekend and will be hoping to make amends.
There should be a straight swap in the holding midfield position with Rodri replacing Fernandinho. Guardiola had the chance to rest Kevin de Bruyne in midweek, but he has persisted with the Belgian in the centre of the park.
The playmaker appears back to his best after a hamstring injury and scored twice against the Saints. It won’t come as a surprise if he is picked to start once again. He could be accompanied by Bernardo Silva, with Ilkay Gundogan dropping to the bench.
Further forward, Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus are likely to return to the mix, and they could replace Phil Foden and Riyad Mahrez respectively. Mahrez has been in superb touch lately and netted twice against the Saints.
The Algerian has started the last six league games for the Cityzens and could be rested ahead of the European tie against Monchengladbach in Budapest. Up front, we anticipate Sergio Aguero to lead the line.
Guardiola resisted the prospect of starting Aguero against the Saints, and it was quite amusing given the Argentine played no part in the two games before that. The 32-year-old needs a big performance tonight to boost his chances of starting regularly.
Predicted Manchester City line-up (4-3-3): Ederson; Walker, Stones, Laporte, Cancelo; Rodri, De Bruyne, Silva; Sterling, Aguero, Jesus.
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Stats from Transfermarkt.com
