Manchester City fans have mixed feelings after Pep Guardiola named his starting XI for their crunch meeting with title rivals Liverpool this afternoon. Overall there are three changes from the midweek win over Atletico Madrid as Gabriel Jesus and Phil Foden start.
England player Kyle Walker also comes back into the line-up in as Nathan Ake, Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez drop out. They take their seats on the bench alongside £100million man Jack Grealish.
Victory for either side would put them in pole position to land the big one. However, with seven games still to go after the final whistle, there ought to be further twists and turns to come.
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Beyond this mouth-watering Premier League showdown, City and Liverpool have also drawn each other in the FA Cup semi-finals and might yet meet in the Champions League showpiece, too. However, there is important work to get through first this afternoon (4.30pm).
During his pre-match press conference, Guardiola suggested that City would be without Ruben Dias (hamstring), while Academy graduate Cole Palmer continues to nurse a troublesome foot injury which might need intervention further down the line to help his eventual recovery.
Walker is available for selection as his served three-match suspension only related to European competitions. He starts at right-back as Joao Cancelo switches to left-back in a defensive unit which also includes John Stones and Aymeric Laporte. Netherlands international Ake is the man to miss out there.
Normal service has been resumed in the engine room as Rodri offers a protective shield for Bernardo Silva and the midweek match-winner Kevin de Bruyne. Meanwhile, in attacking quarters, that is where the biggest dilemma lied and Guardiola made his choice; Foden, Jesus and Raheem Sterling.
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