City head to Liverpool tomorrow with Enzo Maresca having a few places in his starting XI to still nail down.
Erling Haaland is fit and should start after scoring five goals in City’s opening five Premier League games. Phil Foden is suspended, while Antoine Semenyo and Nico O’Reilly have both had fitness issues during the international break.
As we covered in our Liverpool v Man City preview, City, of course, arrive at Anfield with five league wins from five.
Who comes in for Foden?
Foden serves the final game of his three-match domestic suspension tomorrow. Rayan Cherki could start behind Haaland, which would keep Enzo Fernandez deeper alongside Elliot Anderson. Maresca could instead bring Ayyoub Bouaddi into midfield and push Fernandez further forward.
The Standard expects Cherki to get the nod, with Fernandez and Anderson behind him. The Frenchman would give City another creative player close to Haaland, although starting him at Anfield would produce an attacking midfield three. Using Fernandez further forward would give Maresca another midfielder behind the ball.
Who starts out wide?
Semenyo trained on Thursday after pulling out of Ghana duty, but Maresca did not specifically confirm his availability at his press conference. Jeremy Doku and Iliman Ndiaye are also in contention for the wide positions.
Doku gives City a direct one-on-one threat and could be particularly useful if Liverpool leave space behind their full-backs. Ndiaye has offered more defensively and can help City when they are without the ball.
Semenyo’s fitness could settle part of the argument. If he starts, Maresca then has to decide what he wants from the other flank rather than simply picking his two most attacking wingers.
Liverpool have injury problems of their own. Reuters reports that Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo have both been ruled out after suffering injuries on international duty.
O’Reilly or Gvardiol at left-back?
O’Reilly withdrew from the England squad during the international break and his condition will need to be considered before Maresca names his side. Josko Gvardiol can play at left-back, which would allow Ruben Dias and Marc Guehi to continue together centrally.
O’Reilly offers more going forward from the position, but Gvardiol’s experience could count at Anfield, particularly if O’Reilly has not had a full week of preparation.
Haaland’s availability is one problem Maresca does not have. The striker has already joined his manager in calling for unity at City during a difficult period away from the pitch.
Maresca has also been answering questions about City’s longer-term future, including the possibility of relegation following the financial verdict, but his immediate task is maintaining a perfect league start at Anfield. We covered his response to those questions here.
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