Ederson, Rico Lewis, Matheus Nunes, Kevin De Bruyne, Julian Alvarez, and Jeremy Doku all return against Luton Town.
Dropping to the bench are Stefan Ortega Moreno, Rodrigo, Bernardo, Phil Foden and Jack Grealish, while Kyle Walker makes a welcome return as one of today’s subs.
TEAMS
CITY XI: Ederson, Lewis, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol, Kovacic, Nunes, De Bruyne (C), Alvarez, Doku, Haaland
Subs: Ortega Moreno, Walker, Ake, Grealish, Rodrigo, Bernardo, Gomez, Foden, Bobb
LUTON TOWN: Kaminski, Onyedinma, Hashioka, Burke, Doughty, Chong, Barkley, Berry, Clark, Morris, Townsend.
Subs: Shea, Krul, Woodrow, Ruddock, Johnson, Harris, Chigozie, Nelson, Piesold.
TACTICS
Second-guessing who will play where with a number of defensive injuries is not easy, but we can assume Rico Lewis will play at right-back, Josko Gvardiol on the opposite flank with Manu Akanji and Ruben Dias as our central defenders.
Mateo Kovacic looks set for the midfield anchor role, with Nunes and De Bruyne completing the trio.
Up front, Doku and Alvarez are likely to play either side of Erling Haaland.
Ederson, of course, will play in goal!
Blues need goals
Luton Town have shown fantastic spirit this season and, against the odds, are still very much in the battle for survival.
The club has climbed from non-League to Premier League and there is a camaraderie among the manager, players and supporters that is difficult to match.
They will fight tooth and nail to stay up and they gave the Blues a difficult 90 minutes in the first league meeting this season at Kenilworth Road.
The FA Cup clash at the same venue saw City romp home 6-2, in an open and entertaining clash in Bedfordshire.
Yet, City are in a three-way fight for the Premier League title, so will approach this game as business as usual.
The Blues have the poorest goal difference of the top three and against a side third from bottom, this is an opportunity to make up some ground.
That is with the greatest respect to Luton, who have shown they are capable of beating the best this season.
But with the games running out, we are going to have to find those goals from somewhere as there is a the very real chance that goal difference could settle this title race.
Stats
City have won our last four home league games against Luton by an aggregate score of 12-1. They last hosted them in April 1999 in the third tier (2-0), while they last did so in the top-flight in February 1992 (4-0).
Luton have conceded eight goals against City in all competitions this season, losing 2-1 in the Premier League and 6-2 in the FA Cup. They last conceded more against a side in a single campaign (excluding as a non-league side) in 1999-00 (11 in four meetings with Bristol Rovers).
Luton have never won an away league match against the reigning top-flight champions in 16 attempts (D3 L13), losing the last nine by an aggregate score of 27-2.
City are unbeaten in their last 40 home games in all competitions (W34 D6), just two short of their all-time club record of 42 set between December 1919 and November 1921.
City are unbeaten in their last 16 Premier League games, winning 12 and drawing four. They’ve won 4-1 (v Aston Villa) and 4-2 (v Crystal Palace) in their last two games, last netting 4+ goals in three consecutive league games in April/May 2022 (4 in a row).
City have scored in each of their last 57 home games in all competitions, their longest such scoring streak in club history. The last Premier League side to score in more consecutive home games were Manchester United (a run of 61 between September 2010 and November 2012).
Following a 2-1 win against Bournemouth last time out, Luton are looking to win consecutive Premier League games for the second time, previously doing so against Newcastle and Sheffield United in December.
Luton are – along with Sheffield United – one of two sides without an away clean sheet in the Premier League this season, with the Hatters conceding a league-high 38 goals on the road so far this term.
Excluding penalties, only Arsenal (19) and Everton (15) have scored more goals from set-piece situations than Luton in the Premier League this season (14). However, Manchester City have conceded just two such goals so far, fewer than any other side.
Phil Foden has scored nine goals in his last nine Premier League games, with his 14 overall this season his best return in a single campaign. His next goal will be his 50th in the competition; he would be the 10th player to reach this milestone for Manchester City, while aged 23 years and 321 days on the day of this game, he’d be the second youngest to do so for the club after Erling Haaland earlier this season.
| 1 |
|
Manchester City Man City | 32 | 22 | 7 | 3 | 76 | 32 | 44 | 73 | DDWWW | |
| 2 |
|
Arsenal Arsenal | 32 | 22 | 5 | 5 | 75 | 26 | 49 | 71 | WDWWL | |
| 3 |
|
Liverpool Liverpool | 32 | 21 | 8 | 3 | 72 | 31 | 41 | 71 | DWWDL |
It’s another key encounter as the 2023/24 title race reaches the finishing straight with City looking to step up our quest for a historic fourth consecutive Premier League crown while Luton seek to boost their bid to beat the drop.
And, as always, the Official Man City App will provide dedicated coverage of what will be another important game for the boys in blue - and for those living in Great Britain this is the perfect place to keep pace with today’s action.
