They may have new signing Ruben Diaz for Manchester City to go back to winning ways in the Premier League in Leeds.
City were held to a 5-2 defeat by Leicester last weekend, boosting confidence 3-0 at Burnley at midwick, before advancing to the Carabo Cup.
Pep Cardiola Turf Moore played as a strong side, but retired Phil Foden and Nathan AK, while Aymeric Laporte and Bernardo Silva got the much-needed few minutes under their belts.
While Cardiola has confirmed that City will still be without Ilke Gundogan and Gabriel Jesus, he could introduce Diaz to the squad after signing his new side training this week.
Read how our writers think the City line should be on Eland Road today and use the interactive widget to choose your own page.
Stuart Brennan
Since Leeds are direct opponents, there is no doubt that the Blues need to go as strong as possible to win this game.
That means there is no rest for the leading line-up who drove the Leicester defeat out of their organization by playing at Burnley at midweek.
To listen to Ruben Diaz, especially in a tactical battle like this, after two days of training, is too much, and with Aymeric Lawport, no gambling is required.
Bill Foden should come back too, which will give the page a little more agility, even if it means dropping the double center.
Liam Delapp was not ready for this either, so Raheem Sterling could continue to be the center of the attack, boosted by his two goals in midwick.
Joe Bray
If he gets I will keep Diaz inside from the start – he should have played for Benfica last week and kept some training sessions under his belt. There should be no pressure on him until Cardiola’s demands are met, but the defense facing Leicester was sometimes ubiquitous, so he should at least provide some strength behind.
Since Rodrigo and Fernando have the same effect as they did in Wolves against Leicester, the rest of the team chooses for themselves.
Once Leeds began to attack, City could try and catch them with a new Bill Foden, Ferran Torres and the ever-lively Raheem Sterling – as always, set by Kevin de Bruyne.
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Daniel Murphy
There should be no question about Diaz’s fitness following his signing, but I still feel that it could be too soon to throw him out of a Premier League match after a couple of training sessions under Cardiola, especially in a sports Leeds.
For some reason, the left-foot center-back alliance looks disgusting, but I see no reason why AK and Laporte could not work together, as the Dutchman’s movement may be needed against the pace of the Leeds attack.
Speed and endurance will play a key role in the game as Leeds relentlessly presses City, with the result that I will drop the double center that includes both Rodrigo and Fernando, especially after the defeat to Leicester, on the team Brazil. Instead, I’ll start after Bernardo returns in the middle of the week to help combat its infinite energy leads a little better.
Despite his fantastic performance against Burnley, I would drop Ferran Torres in favor of Bill Foden because he is very good at catching the ball and assisting defensively.
