Pep Guardiola could confirm his big-game Man City starting XI for run-in vs Manchester United
It's not unreasonable to say that nine out of the Manchester City starting XI to face Manchester United are already set in stone.
Pep Guardiola made changes to his side that went out and put six past a helpless Luton - who in fairness, didn't even play too badly in their heavy defeat. Ederson, Ruben Dias, Rodri and Phil Foden were all unused substitutes at Kenilworth Road, and all four would expect to walk straight back into the team against United given how important they are to Guardiola this season.
After that, Guardiola took off four more regulars once City's quarter-final spot was locked in. John Stones, Nathan Ake, Bernardo Silva and five-goal-hero Erling Haaland all put their feet up in the final stages at Luton, and are four more who will surely face United.
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Add Kevin De Bruyne to the list of certain starters after his four assists in midweek. If he wasn't part of the four players withdrawn towards the end, it backs up his own claim that he is back to full fitness and ready to face United.
So that leaves one more defender, and one more midfielder or attacker. At the back, it's between Kyle Walker at right-back, or Manu Akanji in the centre, pushing Stones out wide. Walker's ability to match Marcus Rashford for pace, and slot inside to a back three if Stones pushes on, probably gives him the edge on Akanji.
Walker's inclusion would also allow whoever is on the right wing to come inside. That will probably be Bernardo, with Foden left. So the final call comes down to whether Guardiola wants a game with more bodies near to the box through Julian Alvarez or a bit more protection in
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