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How Manchester City could line up against Bournemouth

Ahead of Saturday's Premier League clash between Manchester City and Bournemouth, Sports Mole looks at how Pep Guardiola's could line up at the Etihad Stadium.

Manchester City head into their Premier League encounter with Bournemouth looking to extend their advantage at the top of the standings to five points.

Pep Guardiola's side play a day earlier than each of their main rivals for the top-flight crown, but that may only lead to the pressure increasing on Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Arsenal.

City have put together a 14-match unbeaten run in all competitions, with 12 wins, 44 goals and 10 clean sheets all coming during that period.

Guardiola has a number of selection dilemmas ahead of Saturday's game, and here Sports Mole looks at how his team could line up at the Etihad Stadium.



MCYXI VS. BOU

Out: Benjamin Mendy (knee), Kevin De Bruyne (knee), Claudio Bravo (Achilles), Eliaquim Mangala (knee)
Doubtful: Bernardo Silva (knock), Ilkay Gundogan (foot), Gabriel Jesus (groin)

Ilkay Gundogan, Bernardo Silva and Gabriel Jesus all missed Tuesday's Champions League fixture in Lyon, but Guardiola expects to have each of the trio available to play some part of this weekend's encounter.

Guardiola could look to rotate some of his key men due to the club's upcoming schedule, and that may lead to Bernardo coming in for Raheem Sterling on the right flank.

Fabian Delph is a likely inclusion having started the game in France on the bench, but whether the England international starts at left-back or in midfield could depend on the fitness of Gundogan.

Nicolas Otamendi could return in the centre of the defence with Aymeric Laporte due a rest after already making 18 starts this season, while Danilo may get the nod over Kyle Walker at right-back.

The game is likely to come too soon for Kevin De Bruyne, with it having previously been reported that the Belgian playmaker is aiming to make his comeback from a knee injury ahead of next weekend's meeting with Chelsea.

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Written by
Darren Plant
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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola pictured on September 29, 2018
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TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool19144147192846
2Arsenal20117239182140
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest1911442619737
4Chelsea20106439241536
5Newcastle UnitedNewcastle20105534221235
6Manchester CityMan City2010463627934
7Bournemouth209653023733
8Aston Villa209563032-232
9Fulham207943027330
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2061043029128
11Brentford208393835327
12Tottenham HotspurSpurs20731042301224
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd206592328-523
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham206592439-1523
15Crystal Palace204972128-721
16Everton193881525-1017
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1944113142-1116
18Ipswich TownIpswich2037102035-1516
19Leicester CityLeicester2035122344-2114
20Southampton2013161244-326


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