Enzo Maresca has plenty of options when City return to Premier League action against Ipswich Town later.
City have a clean bill of health, while Phil Foden is available domestically again after completing his three-match suspension. Ayyoub Bouaddi has also given Maresca something to consider following his impressive second-half performance against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday.
We think both could be handed starts as City look to make it seven Premier League wins from seven.
Man City predicted XI v Ipswich
Our predicted Man City XI to face Ipswich. This is our selection and not the confirmed team.
Is it time for Foden and Bouaddi?
Foden is the strongest selection call after Maresca’s comments at Friday’s press conference. The England international was an unused substitute in the 4-2 Champions League defeat to PSG but has trained well during his absence from Premier League action.
Maresca told the official Manchester City website that he still needed to decide whether Foden would start against Ipswich, before joking that he would score on Saturday. Bouaddi made a particularly strong case against PSG after replacing Rayan Cherki at half-time. Maresca subsequently described the 18-year-old as a “fantastic player” and praised his ability to improve those around him.
We are expecting Maresca to reward that performance with a start alongside Enzo Fernández, with Foden moving into the No 10 position.
Haaland keeps his place
The other major question surrounds Erling Haaland. Maresca admitted on Friday that the striker will need a rest at some stage after a demanding start to the season for club and country. However, he confirmed that Haaland would be in the squad against Ipswich.
We predict that the Norwegian starts before potentially being withdrawn if City establish control of the game. Haaland scored twice against PSG and has 10 goals in nine appearances this season, making him difficult to leave out while City attempt to maintain their perfect Premier League record.
Changes at full-back
We also expect changes to the defence that started against PSG. Matheus Nunes could return at right-back after replacing Rúben Dias at half-time on Wednesday, while Nico O’Reilly gets our vote over Joško Gvardiol on the opposite side.
Dias and Marc Guéhi retain their places centrally, although Maresca has identified both among the players whose workloads will need to be managed during City’s busy run of fixtures.
Further forward, we have Jeremy Doku joining Antoine Semenyo either side of Foden. That would leave Maresca with Rayan Cherki and Iliman Ndiaye among several strong attacking options from the bench.
Full kick-off and broadcast information is available in our Man City v Ipswich match guide.
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