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Latest Manchester City news as the Blues take on Monaco in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
Manchester City visit Monaco in the Champions League on Wednesday night seeking to make it back-to-back wins in Europe this season.
The Blues brushed aside 10-man Napoli in their opening fixture and will hope to maintain their recent momentum across all competitions which has resulted in four wins and a draw since the September international break.
Pep Guardiola has taken a 21-man squad to France with Rayan Cherki not involved despite having returned to training. Rodri has travelled but the Etihad chief has urged caution with his midfielder.
Nonetheless, the Spaniard looks set to start in the Principality with Guardiola declaring him fit to feature even if there remain concerns over his workload. It's hard to see the value in the 29-year-old travelling if he's not going to play so he could replace Nico Gonzalez in the middle alongside Tijjani Reijnders.
Bernardo Silva is set to return to the side against his former club, while Phil Foden, Jeremy Doku and Erling Haaland are three in-form players and that trio are perhaps the first names on the teamsheet at the moment.
Gianluigi Donnarumma will continue in goal while Nico O'Reilly's impressive form is set to see him retained at left back with Rayan Ait-Nouri still sidelined.
Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias have seemingly formed the first-choice defensive pairing and while John Stones is fit, there doesn't seem too much merit in throwing him in. The England international is also an option at right back in the absence of Abdukodir Khusanov and could play there against Monaco, but it feels like a straight shootout between Rico Lewis and Matheus Nunes.
The latter is in possession of the shirt at the moment and scored and assisted in the weekend win over Burnley, even if he could have done better for the Clarets' goal. It's a tight call but Nunes may get the nod to continue.
Predicted City XI: Donnarumma, Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O'Reilly, Rodri, Reijnders, Bernardo, Foden, Haaland, Doku.
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