Man City predicted lineup vs Brentford - Premier League
- Pep Guardiola has a fully fit City squad to choose from
- Erling Haaland could make his first start in two months
- City have won their last eight matches across all competitions
A Manchester City side unblemished by absences takes on Brentford in the Premier League on Monday night.
Brentford boss Thomas Frank, who is without his leading scorers, tied himself in knots mulling over the wealth of options available to Pep Guardiola. "I think they have so many top players," Frank sighed. "It doesn't matter who they play."
Turning his attention just to the strength in depth on the flanks, Frank said: "My analysis showed me last night [against Burnley] they played [Phil] Foden and [Jeremy] Doku. Maybe they play [Jack] Grealish and [Bernardo] Silva against us. That is four top players."
Here's a look at the lineup that Guardiola could select from his bulging squad.
Man City predicted lineup vs Brentford (4-2-3-1)
GK: Ederson - The Brazilian shot-stopper is one of the few names tattooed onto the team sheet.
RB: Kyle Walker - Even with the return of Kevin De Bruyne and the swirling off-field issues that have come to light in recent weeks, Walker will remain City captain.
CB: Ruben Dias - One of only two outfield players to have started a game for City this season and not provided at least a goal or an assist (the other is John Stones).
CB: Nathan Ake - The Dutchman has not lost a league game for City since October.
LB: Josko Gvardiol - Hailed as an "incredible professional" by Guardiola, Gvardiol has been a fixture of City's starting XI since December.
CM: Rodri - One of several players rested for City's last trip to Brentford's Community Stadium on the final day of the 2022/23 Premier League campaign with the title already sewn up. It would be a considerable shock if Rodri is left out on Monday.
CM: Mateo Kovacic - Growing up, Luka Modric was Kovacic's footballing idol. As a regular in the national team together, Modric is now the godfather to Kovacic's first child.
AM: Kevin De Bruyne - Rated by Frank as "the best player in the Premier League over the last three seasons". Not many would disagree.
RW: Bernardo Silva - After a rare rest in midweek, Bernardo could be brought into the side to help control the tempo of a contest that Brentford will be desperate to disrupt.
ST: Erling Haaland - Out of the 21 Premier League clubs unfortunate enough to come up against Haaland, Brentford are the only team yet to concede a goal scored by the Norwegian.
LW: Jack Grealish - The £100m man has played 1,144 more minutes of football than De Bruyne this season but has contributed to just as many goals (five).
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