Predicted XI for Manchester City’s clash against Leicester City

Manchester City are all set to return to the Premier League and are now scheduled to face Leicester City at King Power Stadium. After a narrow defeat against Spurs on the opening day of the Championship, the Citizens seem to have found their lost mojo as they were able to hand heavy defeats to both Arsenal and Norwich City.

But now, they are up against a strong Brendan Rodgers side who have looked fairly decent in their opening three games of the season. The Sky Blues have already played the Foxes in the ongoing season as both sides faced each other in the Community Shield final, which ended in heartbreak for the City side as they were defeated 1-0 in the season opener.

In the pre-match press conference, Manager Pep Guardiola was asked about the availability of his Brazilian players, to which he said :

"“Hopefully they can play we’ll wait and see if there is good news. The club didn’t inform me anything. We will wait tomorrow if they can play or not.”"

As of now, it has been assumed that Manchester City might miss some of their star members for this important clash. Hence, they will need to make the best use of their star-studded squad if they are to topple Brendan Rodger’s men.

Scott Carson is most likely to don the gloves between the sticks and will hope to gather a clean sheet on his rare start. At the back, John Stones and Ruben Dias is expected to pair up as the centre-backs. This defending duo will be keen to keep the Leicester attack at bay and will look to put their best efforts to maintain solidarity at the back end of the pitch.

In the defensive flanks, Kyle Walker will occupy his usual right-back position whereas the left-back spot will be handed to Joao Cancelo as he has looked in good form this term. This also means that  Oleksandr Zincheko will again have to wait for his first start this season.

At the centre of the park, Rodri will operate as the defensive midfielder and will be tasked with shielding the City backline. On the flanks, Bernardo Silva will function as a right midfielder and on the other side, Ilkay Gundogan will retain his left midfielder role.

At the front, Jack Grealish is again set to return to his left-wing role and will look to provide good crosses in the box. Riyad Mahrez will be handed a start in the right-wing role and is expected to threaten the Foxes backline with his quick feet. Ferran Torres will feature as the no.9 as he has been in excellent touch in front of the goal. The Spaniard will look to add more goals to his tally in a bid to secure a permanent spot in Guardiola’s side.