Manchester City take on West Bromwich Albion on Wednesday, hoping to continue their winning momentum to keep their lead atop the table intact.
Manchester City have been on a great run this season, and a visit from West Brom is their next hurdle to pass. The Citizens will be hoping to keep their lead on top of the Premier League table intact with a win against the Premier League strugglers.
After seeing their unbeaten start to the season cut short by Liverpool in a 4-3 loss away from home, Manchester City bounced back to beat Newcastle in the league soon afterwards. That victory was followed by progression to the Carabao Cup final after defeating Bristol City.
Manchester City have also progressed to the fifth round of the FA Cup courtesy their 2-0 victory over Cardiff City last weekend. The table toppers resume their Premier League duties with a visit from West Brom tonight and a win would keep their lead up top intact.
Manchester City are expected to be without German winger Leroy Sane who suffered an ankle injury in their win over Cardiff. Sane was in the news following a horror tackle from Cardiff City’s Joe Bennett and will miss more than six weeks of action, as confirmed by Pep Guardiola himself in his pre-match press conference.
Other absentees include Benjamin Mendy, Fabian Delph and Gabriel Jesus, who will all be missing this tie due to their respective injuries. New signing, Aymeric Laporte from Athletic Bilbao could also be involved, with Manchester City completing his signing before the deadline for the current gameweek.
Manchester City boss Guardiola will more or less maintain a cohesive side and look for a quality squad replacement for Sane. Bernardo Silva is expected to be the man to replace Sane in the starting line up.
In goal, Ederson is set to continue to play after Claudio Bravo featured in back-to-back cup games for City. In defence, Oleksandr Zinchenko is set to continue as Benjamin Mendy, and Fabian Delph both remain out injured. Kyle Walker should start as right-back.
Vincent Kompany has regained fitness and is set to feature again alongside John Stones as City’s central defenders, while there could be involvement of new signing Aymeric Laporte, albeit from the bench.
Midfield is where Guardiola has won his Premier League battles with most teams and is set to stick with his hit formulae of Fernandinho, Kevin de Bruyne and David Silva. Upfront though, Manchester City are severely hit with injuries.
The latest casualty to Leroy Sane means the hosts will be without two key attackers, with Gabriel Jesus already sidelined due to a knee injury. With no other fit attacker available, Sergio Aguero is set to lead the line against West Brom, with Bernardo Silva on his right and Raheem Sterling to his left.
