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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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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola pictured on September 29, 2018
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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool1210112481631
2Manchester CityMan City127232217523
3Chelsea126422314922
4Arsenal126422112922
5Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton126422116522
6Tottenham HotspurSpurs1261527131419
7Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest125431513219
8Aston Villa125431919019
9Fulham125341717018
10Newcastle UnitedNewcastle125341313018
11Brentford125252222017
12Manchester UnitedMan Utd124441313016
13Bournemouth124351617-115
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham124351519-415
15Everton122551017-711
16Leicester CityLeicester122461523-810
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves122372028-89
18Ipswich TownIpswich121651323-109
19Crystal Palace121561017-78
20Southampton121110924-154


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