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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Kyle Newbould

Julian Alvarez and Ruben Dias start in predicted Man City line-up vs Brentford

Pep Guardiola admitted he will leave it late to make several fitness decisions as Manchester City end their title-winning Premier League campaign with a trip to Brentford on Sunday.

City lifted the Premier League trophy for a third consecutive season last week, following their 1-0 win at home to Chelsea, with Guardiola afforded the luxury of being able to make a number of changes against Frank Lampard's side and against Brighton on Wednesday.

However, the Blues manager will not want to lose momentum ahead of a pivotal few games. Following the game against Brentford, Guardiola will have a week to prepare for an FA Cup final meeting with Manchester United before facing Inter Milan in the Champions League final.

ALSO READ: Every word from Pep Guardiola's pre-Brentford press conference

City were without Nathan Ake, Ruben Dias, Manu Akanji and Aymeric Laporte for Wednesday's 1-1 draw at Brighton, with Guardiola admitting he will leave it late to make any major fitness decisions. Sunday's final day trip to Brentford is expected to come too soon for Ake, but Dias could return in central defence alongside John Stones, with Stefan Ortega keeping his place in goal.

Kyle Walker will likely keep his place at right-back, with Rico Lewis moving across to the left as he did at the AMEX.

Ahead of them, Rodri will likely move into his more natural midfield role after playing at centre-back on Wednesday, with Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva named in a strong midfield trio that can keep up momentum going into next week. After playing the full 90 minutes at Brighton, club captain Ilkay Gundogan could be rested.

Erling Haaland also played the full game on the south coast and was unfortunate not to score, but any chance to add to his 36 league goals may come from the bench, with Julian Alvarez potentially leading the line.

Riyad Mahrez could keep his place on the right, while Phil Foden - who scored on Wednesday and looked sharp - looks set to start on the right ahead of Jack Grealish.

City predicted line-up in full: Ortega; Walker, Stones, Dias, Lewis; Rodri, De Bruyne, Bernardo; Mahrez, Alvarez, Foden

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