Man City Predicted Lineup vs. Sunderland: Fernandez Role Expected to Change

The vibes are off the charts on the Sky Blue half of Manchester, as City aim to enter the first international break with their 100% record in tact.

A gritty, albeit controversial, victory in the Manchester Derby has only emboldened belief at Etihad Stadium that a post-Pep Guardiola world could yet be prosperous for City, who sit alongside champions Arsenal at the Premier League’s summit.

Enzo Maresca had a midweek Carabao Cup tie to navigate, and the kids got the job done against Championship opposition. Key players enjoyed nights off, so plenty will be fresh for Saturday’s fixture.

Man City Predicted Lineup vs. Sunderland

Man City’s predicted XI to face Sunderland.

GK: Gianluigi Donnarumma—The Italian heads into Saturday’s bout having notched three consecutive clean sheets. Watch out, David Raya.

RB: Matheus Nunes—Maresca has followed Pep Guardiola’s lead by utilizing Nunes at right back, with the Portuguese restoring himself as first choice since recovering from injury.

CB: Rúben Dias—Dias came into his own after City were reduced to 10 men at Old Trafford. This will be a different test, but one he’s certainly not unfamiliar with. Sunderland will aim to hurt the hosts on the counterattack.

CB: Marc Guéhi—After starting the season in midfield, Maresca has quickly realised that Guéhi simply must feature in his back four. He’s almost always a stable presence.

LB: Joško Gvardiol—Gvardiol’s efficacy as an attacking outlet was on display again at Old Trafford, as he teed up Erling Haaland’s controversial winner.

CM: Elliot Anderson—Anderson’s summer move distorted the midfield market, but the England international has quickly shown why the Cityzens were so keen to spend as much as they did to bring him to Etihad Stadium.

Pick Your Man City XI!

CM: Ayyoub Bouaddi—The young Moroccan midfielder is surely ready to make his first Premier League start, having enjoyed an assured start to his career in Manchester.

RW: Rayan Cherki—Cherki was allowed to have 45 minutes of fun against second-tier Norwich City in the week, getting on the scoresheet. With Nunes working his way up and down, the Frenchman will have the license to drift infield from the right flank.

AM: Enzo Fernández—With Maresca shuffling things around in Foden’s absence, we could see Fernández get the nod in a more advanced midfield role. The City boss converted the Argentinian into an effective box-crasher during their time together at Chelsea.

LW: Antoine Semenyo—Semenyo played a key role in helping City get up the pitch after going down to 10 at Old Trafford. It should be a different dynamic here, with the Ghanaian aiming to continue his impressive start to the season despite Jérémy Doku’s potential return.

ST: Erling Haaland—Sunderland are one of the very, very few Premier League teams Haaland is yet to score against. City’s goal machine drew a pair of blanks when they met last season.

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