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Manchester City are at the Etihad Stadium for the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie against Liverpool. The Citizens suffered a disappointing 3-0 defeat at Anfield in the reverse fixture, and they now have a huge deficit to make up in front of their faithful.
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Lineup:
Ederson has been the undisputed pick in goal for the Citizens, and Pep Guardiola is expected to start the Brazilian once more against the Reds.
In defence, Kyle Walker and Aymeric Laporte could return to the fray after missing the Manchester derby, and they are likely to take their position on the right and left side of the backline respectively.
Guardiola has hinted that he could make changes in the central defensive department after conceding six goals in the previous two outings, and skipper Vincent Kompany could find himself replaced.
The Catalan tactician recently spoke fondly about the excellent showing of Nicolas Otamendi through the campaign, and the Argentine could start alongside John Stones, who has been nursing an adductor injury.
Onto the midfield, Guardiola may have to sacrifice the additional midfielder with the club in need of at least four goals in order to qualify for the semi-final stage.
In this case, Fernandinho and Kevin de Bruyne are likely to get the nod to start in the centre of the park with Ilkay Gundogan making way for an additional attacker in the lineup.
Further forward, Leroy Sane and Bernardo Silva may get the nod in the left and right side of the attack respectively leaving Raheem Sterling on the bench versus his former club.
The England international was poor with his finishing versus Manchester United, and City cannot afford a similar performance in what is a must-win game.
Aside from this, David Silva is a strong contender in an attacking midfield position, and he may slot just behind Sergio Aguero, who made his injury return over the weekend. The Argentine is still searching for his 200th goal in the City shirt.
Written by Sri Aswin
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