An intriguing clash at the Etihad gets the day’s Premier League football underway.
Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspur is Saturday’s 12.30pm BST kick-off, with this fixture being another stern test of the early progress that the visitors have made under Thomas Frank.
The Lilywhites performed admirably in their last encounter against elite opposition, running Paris Saint-Germain mightily close in the UEFA Super Cup. They had been thumped by Bayern Munich a week earlier, however.
Frank, interestingly, doesn’t go with the ‘five at the back’ set-up he used against PSG.
Many, including ourselves, thought Kevin Danso would come in for this fixture, with Brennan Johnson making way. Johnson, however, keeps his place in what looks like a 4-2-3-1/4-3-3.
The two alterations he has made were expected, at least: Joao Palhinha and Rodrigo Bentancur are back after their Gameweek 1 breathers to replace Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall in midfield.
Richarlison again leads the line, with Dominic Solanke warming the bench.
Pep Guardiola has also made two changes and, like Frank, has gone more attacking than perhaps anticipated.
Rayan Cherki gets his first Premier League start since his summer move, with Omar Marmoush also coming in.
Jeremy Doku and Bernardo Silva drop to the bench.
Tijjani Reijnders may be slightly more curbed than last week, then, but with Rico Lewis inverting into central midfield from right-back, the Dutchman may still get the odd chance to creep forward.
Ederson is back in the squad after missing the win over Wolverhampton Wanderers through illness. He has to settle for a place on the bench, however, as James Trafford starts in goal again.
LINE-UPS
Manchester City XI: Trafford, Lewis, Stones, Dias, Ait-Nouri, Gonzalez, Reijnders, Cherki, Bobb, Marmoush, Haaland.
Subs: Ederson, Ake, Doku, Rodri, Bernardo, Nunes, O’Reilly, Khusanov, Foden.
Tottenham Hotspur XI: Vicario, Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Spence, Sarr, Bentancur, Palhinha, Kudus, Johnson, Richarlison.
Subs: Kinsky, Danso, Vuskovic, Davies, Gray, Bergvall, Odobert, Tel, Solanke.
