There was no sense of Manchester City suffering in their midweek Carabao Cup tie at Huddersfield Town, having been reduced to a vintage José Mourinho-led outfit at the Emirates last Sunday.
City concluded a challenging week by securing a draw with title hopefuls Arsenal, and the chance to rotate in midweek means there should be fresh air in the lungs of Pep Guardiola’s side heading into Saturday’s Premier League clash.
A dogged Burnley are the Cityzens’ upcoming opponents, and based on what we saw against Liverpool two weeks ago, the Clarets will force the hosts to work mightily hard for three points.
Here’s how City could line up for Burnley’s visit this weekend.
Man City Predicted Lineup vs. Burnley (4-1-4-1)
GK: Gianluigi Donnarumma—The Italian was one of several City starters who earned a midweek breather, and he’s a sure bet to come back in on Saturday afternoon.
RB: Matheus Nunes—With Abdukodir Khusanov missing again through injury, Guardiola will choose between Nunes and Rico Lewis at right-back. It‘s a toss-up, but Nunes has been preferred of late.
CB: Rúben Dias—City’s standout box defender will be tested in transition by the clever Lyle Foster and speedy Jaidon Anthony.
CB: Joško Gvardiol—The Croatian defender didn’t travel to Huddersfield in the week, and will return to partner Dias at centre-back on Saturday.
LB: Nico O’Reilly—The City youngster, who initially emerged as a midfielder, remains City’s first-choice option at left-back while Rayan Aït-Nouri is out injured.
DM: Rodri—It’s been a fairly quiet start to the season for the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner, who unsurprisingly didn’t feature on Wednesday night. Guardiola is still managing the Spanish midfielder somewhat.
RM: Savinho—The Brazilian scored in the week and looks set to sign a contract extension with the Cityzens despite strong interest from Tottenham Hotspur. He may start off the right here.
CM: Phil Foden—Increased responsibility for Foden may well get the best out of him this term, having struggled his way through 2024–25. There have been plenty of positive signs in recent weeks.
CM: Tijjani Reijnders—In a City team that may well become more transitional, masterful ball-carrier Reijnders has a huge role to play. He was excellent last Sunday, and only appeared off the bench in the week.
LM: Jérémy Doku—The Belgian was a one-man force in attack at times at the Emirates, and it looks like Doku’s game has gone up a notch after a fairly inconsistent start to his Manchester City career.
READ THE LATEST MAN CITY NEWS, TRANSFER RUMOURS AND MORE
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Man City Predicted Lineup vs. Burnley: Haaland, Reijnders to Lead Charge.
