Reporters and Fans name Man City’s XI vs Tottenham as Guardiola mulls over defensive and attacking change

Thursday night sees Manchester City and Tottenham clash in the Premier League with both teams scrapping to save their 2022/23 seasons.

City have lost two games in a row, exiting the Carabao Cup to Southampton before losing the Manchester derby and are now eight points off the pace in the title race.

Having both suffered respective derby defeats at the weekend, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur will aim to bounce back in a Premier League clash of the titans at the Etihad.

The match will kick off at 8 pm (GMT) and will be televised on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom.

Team News

Pep Guardiola has every single player available with John Stones and Ruben Dias recovering from injuries in time to be considered for the visit of Spurs. Kevin De Bruyne is also available despite missing Tuesday’s training session, and Guardiola confirmed the Belgian was absent for personal reasons, but returned on Wednesday.

The City boss, therefore, has no shortage of options when selecting his team against Tottenham. The biggest certainty to start is Ederson in nets, barring any last-minute injury.

In defence, Guardiola must decide whether to play with a fluid back four, which could see his full-backs move into alternate positions when in possession, or the more traditional defence he used in Saturday’s 2-1 loss to Manchester United.

Joao Cancelo, Kyle Walker and Rico Lewis look like obvious candidates in the wide areas, while two of Manuel Akanji, Aymeric Laporte and Nathan Ake could start at centre-back given Stones and Dias have just returned from injuries.

Guardiola is also likely to choose three of Rodri, Kalvin Phillips, Ilkay Gundogan, Bernardo Silva and Kevin De Bruyne in midfield, with Phillips the most likely to miss out. Erling Haaland is expected to continue up front, and he’ll hope to add to his 27 goals so far this campaign.

In the wide areas Jack Grealish could come in after he netted in the derby loss at Old Trafford, with Riyad Mahrez or Phil Foden expected to play on the opposition flank.

Manchester City possible starting lineup:

In what is set to be an enthralling contest, here is how Some Man City Fans and Media expect Pep Guardiola’s side to line-up.

Evening Standard XI: Ederson; Walker, Akanji, Stones, Cancelo; Rodri, De Bruyne, Silva; Mahrez, Haaland, Foden.

Manchester World XI: Ederson, Lewis, Akanji, Laporte, Cancelo; Rodri, Gundogan, De Bruyne; Mahrez, Haaland, Grealish.

City Report XI: Ederson; Walker, Akanji, Laporte, Cancelo; Rodri, De Bruyne, Gundogan; Mahrez, Haaland, Grealish

Jack Flintham (MEN) XI: Ederson; Kyle Walker, John Stones, Manuel Akanji, Nathan Ake; Rodri, Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan; Riyad Mahrez, Erling Haaland, Jack Grealish

90mim Football XI: Ederson; Walker, Stones, Akanji, Ake; De Bruyne, Rodri, Gundogan; Foden, Haaland, Grealish.

City Xtra XI: Ederson; Walker, Akanji, Aké, Cancelo; Rodri, Gundogan, De Bruyne; Mahrez, Haaland, Grealish.

The probable lineup, from #mancity to the game !!!!🚨 pic.twitter.com/lXXVaIWxpT

— Manchester city xtra 🇬🇧=🇧🇷 (@cityXtrax) January 18, 2023

Who do you think will be in the XI against Tottenham Hotspur?

Best Starting XI base on Majority: Kyle Walker, Manuel Akanji, Nathan Ake, Joao Cancelo; Rodri, Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan; Riyad Mahrez, Erling Haaland, Jack Grealish