Manchester City vs Everton : Take a look at City’s strongest XI against the Toffees

After a brief international break, Manchester City will restart their Premier League campaign with a home fixture against Everton on Sunday. The Cityzens had an excellent outing in their previous league fixture against city rivals Manchester United, and therefore will now hope to maintain this good run of form at their backyard against the Merseyside outfit.

Sitting second in the points table, the Sky Blues have so far played an attractive brand of football and thus are expected to be ‘favorites’ at the Etihad. On the other hand, the Toffees have altogether been shaky in the Championship as they have managed to win only four games out of 11, and are in desperate need of form.

In the pre-match conference, City boss Pep Guardiola confirmed that his side will be without the presence of Phil Foden and Jack Grealish as the English duo are yet to recover from their injuries. The Spaniard was  asked about Kevin De Bruyne’s absence, to which he responded :

"When one person is positive we have to be careful because people are still dying. He was vaccinated, so now he is more protected. Hopefully, the symptoms will be minor.When he comes back negative, he will start again to train with us as soon as possible.We are not concerned about the rhythm or what we are going to miss. The person is more important.Source: Manchester City Official"

Manchester City’s starting XI will feature…..

Ederson will start between the sticks and will hope to register another clean sheet for his side. Ruben Dias and Aymeric Laporte will walk in as the center-backs and will have to keep things tidy at the back.

Kyle Walker will return to his usual right-back position. Joao Cancelo is also in line for another start at the left-back role and is again set to play an integral role in City’s offensive half.

Rodri will feature as the defensive midfielder. The Spaniard will be accompanied by two central midfielders, which will see Ilkay Gundogan step in as the left central midfielder. Bernardo Silva will be in contention for another full game as the right central midfielder.

Grealish and Foden’s absence will be a bummer for Guardiola’s side on Sunday, and hence Raheem Sterling will most probably be slotted as the left-winger. Gabriel Jesus will lead the attack from the front and will fill in as the main striker. Riyad Mahrez will be handed a spot in the right-wing position and will look to cause serious problems to this ‘unsettled’ Everton defense.