Manchester City travel down to the south coast to take on Southampton on Saturday.
The Saints are fighting for their lives at the bottom of the Premier League table and will go into the game buoyed by the fact they pulled off an upset by knocking City out of the Carabao Cup when the sides last met earlier this year. The Blues are desperate for the three points themselves as they continue to battle Arsenal for the title.
Pep Guardiola's side take to the field first this weekend so can close the gap on the leaders to five points with a win before the Gunners face Liverpool on Sunday. City will be boosted by the return of Erling Haaland.
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They didn't miss their star striker much last week as they stuck four past Liverpool but his return following a groin injury will be most welcome. Guardiola said in pre-match press conference: "He trained last two days really good. He will be ready."
MEN Sport writers have given the starting XI they would select for the match and you can pick your own in the widget below.
Simon Bajkowski
Erling Haaland has to come back into the team if fit. He may not want 90 minutes but it is better to start and bring him off ahead of Bayern than either not to use him at all or bring him off the bench.
At the same time, Julian Alvarez also should play after doing so well not just against Liverpool but when he started alongside Haaland at Bournemouth earlier in the season. To accommodate him, Bernardo Silva is better in a wide role to be able to cover more grass than Riyad Mahrez would and John Stones needs the nod over Kyle Walker to come into midfield and provide another body.
I wonder also if it is a good time to hold De Bruyne back ahead of Bayern. There have been signs of his magnificent best in recent weeks yet there aren't many other opportunities coming up to rest him in this schedule. Ilkay Gundogan is in fine form as well and can offer a bit more defensive security if needed.
Aymeric Laporte hasn't started a league game since the draw with Forest and is surely due one if he is going to stay pushing for a place. If you can't take Stones out and Dias is also a non-mover, that only leaves Akanji or Ake; Akanji seems the better to leave out given Ake's skill at left-back.
Daniel Murphy
It's great that Erling Haaland is back again but I would be hesitant to throw him straight back into the starting XI when the run-in is so important and a massive clash with Bayern Munich is coming up on Tuesday.
It's an important game but Southampton are at the bottom of the table for a reason and if City can steamroll Liverpool without him then surely they can get past the Saints. Julian Alvarez stepped up when he was needed the most and deserves to keep his place.
Elsewhere, I would also rest John Stones and Ilkay Gundogan ahead of the visit of Bayern with Kyle Walker and Bernardo Silva taking their places.
Isaac Johnson
Guardiola has insisted “Bayern Munich is the last thought” which hints that Haaland will start against bottom club Southampton, albeit is unlikely to see out the whole match. It’s still a risk given the Champions League is the club's main goal this season.
Jack Grealish is undroppable right now so tough luck could see the inspired Alvarez benched for the first hour or so with Mahrez on the right.
Stones - who has been a colossus in Europe this season - operated immensely in his defensive midfield role against Liverpool but given his injury problems this season, he could be rested.
Walker has similarly had injury issues and so Rico Lewis may be given the chance to rediscover his top form. De Bruyne and Rodri like consistency and may at least start against the Saints while Bernardo could get the nod with Gundogan rested for Bayern.
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