City name an unchanged side for Sunday’s key Premier League clash at home to Arsenal.
Pep Guardiola keeps faith with the side that started last weekend’s 3-0 victory at Chelsea with Nico O’Reilly fully recovered for the leg issue that forced him off at Stamford Bridge.
John Stones, who missed out at Chelsea last week through injury, is fit again and named amongst the substitutes.
Ruben Dias is unavailable for selection this afternoon due to injury.
Meanwhile Josko Gvardiol is also still sidelined as he continues his recovery and rehabilitation from a tibial fracture to his right leg.
CITY XI: Donnarumma, Nunes, Khusanov, Guéhi, O’Reilly, Rodrigo, Bernardo (C) Semenyo, Cherki, Doku, Haaland.
Subs: Trafford, Reijnders, Stones, Ake, Marmoush, Nico, Ait-Nouri, Savinho, Foden.
ARSENAL: Raya, Mosquera, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie, Rice, Zubimendi, Eze, Odegaard, Madueke, Havertz.
Subs: Kepa, White, Jesus, Martinelli, Gyokeres, Norgaard, Trossard, Lewis-Skelly, Dowman.
Gianluigi Donnarumma will be the familiar figure in goal with the Italian goalkeeper shielded by a back four of Matheus Nunes, Abdukodir Khusanov, Marc Guéhi and Nico O’Reilly.
Rodri will be the familiar holding midfielder with skipper Bernardo Silva and Rayan Cherki also operating in the City engine room.
Erling Haaland will provide the central attacking threat with Jeremy Doku and Antoine Semenyo deployed on either wing.
However, as always such is City’s tactical flexibility and fluidity those positions could be subject to change as the game goes on.
It feels as though we have been talking about this game for ever – and given the margins at the top of the Premier League, there is no doubting the importance and significance of today’s encounter.
City will go into the match on the back of fine run of form over the past three games.
That trio saw Pep Guardiola’s side beat Arsenal 2-0 to lift the Carabao Cup, then demolish Liverpool 4-0 to advance into the FA Cup semi-finals before then securing a superb 3-0 league win at Chelsea last weekend.
And if the Blues were in need of any extra feelgood factor, history demonstrates how Pep’s City traditionally power into top gear throughout the crucial month of April.
A glance at the record books reveal how for months with at least 10 games played, April is Manchester City’s best under Pep Guardiola in terms of points-per-game (2.51) and win rate (79.5%).
Meanwhile, it’s the worst month for both of those for Arsenal under Mikel Arteta (1.54 PPG, 42.3% win rate).
To a man the City squad have been in superb form over the past month or so.