Kevin De Bruyne to start, Jack Grealish and Riyad Mahrez duo – Predicted XI: Manchester City vs Tottenham Hotspur (Premier League)

Manchester City need to get back to winning ways if they are to salvage a Premier League title challenge, so a home tie against their traditional bogey team is the last thing many fans want right now. 

Like it or not, though, Pep Guardiola’s side will face Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min on Thursday night, so focus must turn to how the home side can exorcise old demons to end a poor run of form and claim all three points. 

In an insightful press conference, the Catalan boss confirmed that Kevin de Bruyne will be available for the match despite missing training on Tuesday.

Pep Guardiola concurred with the commonly-held supporter’s view that Erling Haaland has not received good enough service in recent weeks and suggested that both John Stones and Ruben Dias are in with a shout of starting the game. 

Here’s how we predict the team will line up against Antonio Conte’s men at the Etihad!

Predicted Team

With Ederson a guarantee to start the game in goal, the more interesting question is – as always – who will be tasked with shielding him in the defensive line.

It is hard to know whether John Stones or Ruben Dias will be fully match-fit in time for the game, so to play it safe we’re going to predict the same back four that faced Manchester United: Kyle Walker, Manuel Akanji, Nathan Aké and Joao Cancelo.

Rico Lewis could sneak into the side, while Sergio Gomez is decidedly less likely. That more conventional four played well for the vast majority of the Old Trafford clash, so there is reason to be optimistic that they can provide a solid foundation again here.

Rodri, who was spectacular despite being on the losing side against Manchester United, can be assured of his place to face Spurs.

Despite some patchy form lately, we are not sure dropping Kevin de Bruyne is the answer. As evidenced when he set up Jack Grealish’s header at the weekend, the Belgian can produce special moments even when he is not at his best. We are also expecting a return to the side for Ilkay Gundogan, with Bernardo Silva set to drop to the bench.

Jack Grealish seems a prime candidate to start against Spurs for two reasons: A few impressive substitute appearances in recent weeks, and the worrying form of Phil Foden.

Riyad Mahrez is no stranger to scoring against Tottenham, while Erling Haaland is a shoe-in to start and will be hoping for vastly improved service this time around.

Starting XI: Ederson; Walker, Akanji, Aké, Cancelo; Rodri, Gundogan, De Bruyne; Mahrez, Haaland, Grealish.

Substitutes: Ortega, Lewis, Laporte, Stones, Gomez, Phillips, Bernardo Silva, Foden, Alvarez.