After two of the toughest FA Cup draws imaginable, Manchester City will be looking forward to their meeting with Championship side Bristol City in the fifth round on Tuesday.
City have seen off both Chelsea and Arsenal already in this competition and will fancy their chances of advancing to the next round, although they must be wary of a Bristol City side who are yet to taste defeat in 2023.
While predicting Pep Guardiola’s formation is impossible these days, here’s a look at how the boss could set up.
GK: Stefan Ortega – Ortega has been the cup goalkeeper this season and there’s no doubting his role for this one.
CB: Kyle Walker – With Rico Lewis pushing to take his position in the first team, Walker may have to settle for opportunities like this.
CB: Ruben Dias – After a tricky start to the season, Dias has established himself as Guardiola’s go-to defender in the past month.
CB: Nathan Ake – The versatile Ake has been about as reliable as they come this season for City. He’ll play wherever he needs to.
DM: Sergio Gomez – Gomez used to be an attacking midfielder before his transition into a left-back, and so he feels perfect for this weird setup Guardiola has turned to.
DM: Kalvin Phillips – The lesser-spotted Phillips may get a rare start as Rodri gets a well-earned rest.
RM: Riyad Mahrez – Limited attacking options may force Mahrez to start here after playing limited minutes at the weekend.
CM: Maximo Perrone – Perrone impressed in his short cameo against Bournemouth and deserves a chance to impress from the start.
CM: Ilkay Gundogan – Don’t rule out minutes for Cole Palmer here but Guardiola may be reluctant to rotate too much. Gundogan may be among the first to come off if City get the job done early.
LM: Phil Foden – Foden put on his best performance in months last weekend and deserves the chance to keep building some momentum.
ST: Julian Alvarez – After impressing in a deeper role behind Erling Haaland, Alvarez deserves the chance to impress in his favoured position.
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Credit: 90min.com
