Look out Everton FC! You saw what Manchester City truly is, yesterday in the 3-1 win at Brentford, when they have a fully fit squad. Pep Guardiola was able to start both Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland at the same time since opening day. Haaland had his first league starting assignment since Dec. 6, after having recovered from a long-term foot injury.
De Bruyne has recovered from a hamstring problem that he first suffered in the UEFA Champions League Final last June, and then re-aggravated early on this term.
Manchester City vs Everton FC FYIs
Kickoff: Sat. Feb. 10, 12:30pm, Etihad Stadium
Manchester City Preview Material: Team News Starting XI Prediction
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
Google Result Probability: Man City 79% Draw 13% Everton FC 8%
Premier League Form, Standing: Everton FC 18th, 19 pts, DDDLL Man City 2nd, 49 pts, WWWWW
Pep Guardiola discussed what it felt like to finally have both of his two best players back, at the same time.
I cannot imagine one striker all around the world playing against Brentford surrounded by six players in the space of two, three metres distance, something like that. It’s uncomfortable,” the Catalan said.
“I cannot imagine that even the best, best strikers in the world could survive in there. But being there helps the players in the second position to be more involved and [creates] more chances to score a goal.”
Neither player scored, as the day belonged to Phil Foden, the hat trick hero.
Now we look ahead to next weekend, where we anticipate all members of this trio being in the starting lineup. And here is what we think the remaining eight will be.
Manchester City Starting XI Prediction vs Everton FC
Ederson; Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake, Josko Gvardiol; Rodri, Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne; Julian Alvarez, Phil Foden, Erling Haaland
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now, while writing for the International Baseball Writers Association of America. You can follow the website on Twitter.