Nathan Ake returns to Manchester City’s starting line-up for the Boxing Day clash with Newcastle United, with Sergio Aguero remaining amongst the substitutes at the Etihad Stadium.
Pep Guardiola has made seven changes to the side that started in the midweek victory over Arsenal, with Joao Cancelo, Ruben Dias, Rodrigo and Bernardo Silva the only players to retain their place.
Ten of the players that started against Southampton last weekend will kick-off against the Magpies, which suggests that City will be playing in a 4-3-3 formation.
Ake will de deployed at left-back as Cancelo switches to the more familiar right-back role in Walker’s absence, with De Bruyne the most advanced midfielder ahead of Rodrigo and Gundogan.
Torres should take responsibility for leading the line up front and whilst Bernardo will likely start on the right, he and Sterling could switch flanks throughout the game.
WHEN AND WHERE
We welcome Steve Bruce’s side to the Etihad Stadium on 26 December, with kick-off scheduled for 8pm (UK).
The game is available to watch live on BT Sport for those in the UK, with live updates also being provided via our matchday centre here on mancity.com, as well as on our Twitter: @ManCity
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WE’RE NOT REALLY HERE
Former centre-forward duo Paul Dickov and Shaun Goater will be the guests on our live matchday show, with Kyle Walker and Natalie Paweleck hosting proceedings.
It begins at 19:00 (UK), one hour before we kick-off against Steve Bruce’s side and is available to watch on all our digital platforms.
We’re Not Really Here offers a City focused perspective to your pre-match build-up, with Dickov and Goater providing their expert analysis and insight.
The show resumes at half-time for a brief summary of the opening 45 minutes and, five minutes after the final whistle, we’ll be live for half an hour of post-match reaction.
Our guests will dissect the game and respond to the fans’ Man of the Match poll, questions, and comments, whilst we will also hear a player’s reaction and, time permitting, watch Guardiola’s post-match press conference.
However, the win on the south coast, and then a 4-1 victory over Arsenal in midweek extended our unbeaten run in all competitions to nine games, with just two goals conceded in that time.
Gabriel Jesus got the ball rolling with the opener 10 minutes in, and this was then followed up shortly after by Riyad Mahrez, as he converted a Kevin De Bruyne pull back from 12 yards.
Our third then came 15 minutes after the restart, as a neat team move cannoned off Federico Fernandez and into his own net.
If there was a hint of luck about the third, that definitely wasn’t the case for the fourth, after David Silva sprinkled some of his magic, by curling a stunning free kick into the top right corner.
Silva then turned provider as he rolled in Raheem Sterling, who slotted in the fifth in the final moments to cap off a dominant afternoon for Guardiola‘s side.
