How Man City could line-up against Cheltenham

8:08am on Friday 22nd January 2021
By Stefan Bienkowski

With first place in the Premier League firmly in his grasp, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola will be hoping his side can make short work of Cheltenham in their fourth round FA Cup tie.

However, the Man City manager is likely to take a notable risk ahead of the match by turning to a number of his back-up options in the hope that they'll be able to cover for injured key players against this League Two side.

In defence, Guardiola will be without a number of key players through injury. While United States shot-stopper Zack Steffen should retain his spot between the posts, the Man City manager will likely turn to Eric Garcia to replace the injured Aymeric Laporte in the centre of the pitch, along with Joao Cancelo to step in at right-back for Kyle Walker, who came off injured against Aston Villa on Wednesday.

Similar issues are likely to arise in midfield, where City will surely be without Kevin De Bruyne following his own injury against Villa. Guardiola will likely turn to Bernardo Silva to provide some innovation in the middle of the park, along with Phil Foden.

Up front the former Premier League champions will also be without Sergio Aguero, following his recent positive COVID test, which means Guardiola will once again have to hope that Gabriel Jesus can fill in for the Argentine goalscorer. In support, the Brazilian is likely to have Riyad Mahrez and Ferran Torres on either wing.