Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne to start – Predicted XI: Manchester City vs Liverpool (Carabao Cup)

Manchester City return to competitive action on Thursday night when Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool visit the Etihad Stadium.

The vast majority of the City squad have been in Qatar for the 2022 World Cup since the disappointing defeat at home to Brentford last month, with some players still yet to arrive home from post-tournament holidays.

And while Pep Guardiola would undoubtedly prefer to knock his old rivals out of the competition, the absence of a few big stars may bring out the Catalan coach’s pragmatic side.

It can’t be denied that one eye around the City Football Academy will be on the Premier League clash with Leeds on December 28. 

So, with our best combination of guesswork and training photo reconnaissance, here’s how we predict City will line up for their first game back…

Predicted XI

Stefan Ortega is the first name on the teamsheet, with the designated cup ‘keeper impressing in limited minutes for City this season.

Last weekend’s 2-0 friendly win against Girona provided a few clues for this starting XI, particularly in the full-back area.

Rico Lewis is quickly becoming a firm favourite among City fans, and it’s likely he’ll get another chance to shine here. Sergio Gomez is another of the few players to spend the last month training with Pep, so we expect him to line up against Liverpool as well.

All five of City’s senior centre-backs made it out of the World Cup Group Stage, but it’s hard to see Pep subjecting any academy players to Liverpool’s sharks.

Manuel Akanji and Nathan Aké have only been back in training for a couple of days. Still, they may represent City’s best hope of keeping Salah and company at bay.

Another player who only returned to the City Football Academy in the last few days is Rodri, but we can see Guardiola putting the Spaniard straight back into action regardless.

Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin de Bruyne are fairly easy picks – both looked fit and ready to go against Girona, and the latter picked up a goal and assist for his troubles. 

We also expect Cole Palmer to keep his place from the Girona game, but this time he may face being pushed out to the left wing to fill a hole in the team. That’s because the right flank will once again be occupied by Riyad Mahrez, who has a point to prove after a relatively slow start to the season.

Though he may not play too many domestic cup games throughout his City career, Erling Haaland is another logical choice up top, with Julian Alvarez presumably still celebrating his World Cup victory for quite some time yet.

The Norwegian started and scored against Girona, and will see this as an opportunity to get back to full sharpness before heading to Leeds after Christmas.

Starting XI: Stefan Ortega; Rico Lewis, Nathan Ake, Manuel Akanji, Sergio Gomez; Rodri, Ilkay Gundogan, Kevin De Bruyne; Cole Palmer, Riyad Mahrez, Erling Haaland.

Substitutes: Scott Carson, Shea Charles, Jadel Katongo, Aymeric Laporte, Alex Robertson, Morgan Rogers, Oscar Bobb, Carlos Borges, Isaac Smith.