'Still wincing' - How Man City should line up vs Liverpool FC in Premier League title race showdown
Jack Grealish will definitely miss Manchester City's showdown with Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday - with Jeremy Doku a doubt.
Pep Guardiola will assess his squad this weekend, with Grealish still out with his muscle injury picked up last week at Luton. Doku missed the win over FC Copenhagen in the Champions League with discomfort, while Matheus Nunes was replaced with a dislocated finger.
City rested a number of key players in midweek - although Guardiola insisted that he gave no thought to the Liverpool game when leaving some players out, with tiredness creeping into his squad.
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Read how our writers think City should line up at Liverpool and use the interactive team selector to pick your best starting XI:
Simon Bajkowski
Julian Alvarez impressed against FC Copenhagen but I'd still be tempted to stick with Mateo Kovacic against Liverpool. Maybe it is still wincing at when Ilkay Gundogan was forced in at Anfield in 2018, but for all Alvarez's strengths the more conservative option that sees more players in their natural positions feels like the better one.
Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden, Kevin De Bruyne, Nathan Ake, Ruben Dias and John Stones were all on the bench in midweek and that must have been with the idea of them starting on Sunday. Erling Haaland played almost the full 90 against Copenhagen but will be asked to lead the line.
Kyle Walker was also benched and will expect to come back in. His positioning probably allows the best system for the team, although it will be harsh to leave Manu Akanji out with his recent form.
Pick
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