Jamie Carragher picked Eddie Howe over Pep Guardiola for his Manager of the Season as he feels their qualification for the Champions League is more unexpected than a potential Manchester City treble.
03.05.2023 - 12:19 / manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola will be able to welcome back Nathan Ake in midweek as West Ham visit the Etihad Stadium.
In his pre-match press conference, Guardiola confirmed Ake had returned to training and would likely be available for selection on Wednesday night. Meanwhile, question marks persist over Kevin De Bruyne's fitness.
The Belgian was unable to travel to Fulham on Sunday due to injury and Guardiola said a final decision would be made after yesterday's 4pm training session. Should the Blues win, they will return to the top of the Premier League after they were displaced by Arsenal last night.
ALSO READ: How City should line-up vs West Ham
Ahead of the match, here is how MEN Sport's City fans think the Blues should line up.
Goalkeeper - Ederson
The Brazilian was occasionally unconvincing at Craven Cottage at the weekend albeit he could do nothing about Carlos Vinicius' strike. Despite this, it is hard to see him not start tonight.
Defenders - Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, John Stones, Aymeric Laporte
After being played in a defensive midfield role recently, Stones has been dropped back into a more familiar centre-back role by the supporters. Laporte has also been welcomed back into the team to complete the defence.
Although he has returned to training, Ake is not picked to start while Manuel Akanji, who has impressed centrally and at left-back, is also dropped out of the team.
Midfielders - Rodri, Ilkay Gundogan, Bernardo Silva
Guardiola was unsure about De Bruyne's fitness and City fans, perhaps rightly, have decided not to start him. Bernardo is recalled to the starting line-up to form a midfield-three which includes the ever-reliable Rodri and Gundogan.
Forwards - Julian Alvarez, Erling Haaland,
Jamie Carragher picked Eddie Howe over Pep Guardiola for his Manager of the Season as he feels their qualification for the Champions League is more unexpected than a potential Manchester City treble.
Pep Guardiola's team selection against Chelsea will be intriguing, after Manchester City's massive Champions League win over Real Madrid on Wednesday night.
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Here are your Saturday evening Manchester City headlines
Ilkay Gundogan admits he twice asked Erling Haaland if he was 'sure' he was happy to hand him the penalty he eventually missed in Saturday's 2-1 win at home to Leeds United
Aymeric Laporte wants to continue winning trophies with Manchester City for 'as long as he can', despite finding himself on the fringes of the first team in recent weeks.
There was surprise to see Ederson on the bench for Manchester City against West Ham.
They might be at perceived polar ends of the football spectrum but a healthy mutual respect exists between new Leeds United manager Sam Allardyce and Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola.
Manchester City captain Ilkay Gundogan has admitted that following up February's win away to Arsenal with a disappointing draw at Nottingham Forest proved to be a crucial week in their season.
Manchester City supporters want to see Aymeric Laporte return to the starting line-up against Fulham in the Premier League this weekend.
Former Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick has suggested Manchester City defender Manuel Akanji is a 'different player' to the one that arrived from Borussia Dortmund.
Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher believes it would be increasingly difficult to argue that Manchester City are not the greatest English football team if they win the Champions League this season.