Pep Guardiola 'to axe Jack Grealish in changes' to Man City XI vs Liverpool

Jack Grealish is predicted to be one of three players to drop out of the Man City XI named by Pep Guardiola when his side face Liverpool this weekend.

After throwing away a 3-0 lead to draw 3-3 with Feyenoord in the Champions League in midweek (26 November), the defending Premier League champions go into the game winless in their last six.

Defeat to the current league leaders would leave them 11 points adrift in the title race, and raise even more questions about whether they can retain their crown.

After that dismal run of form, there may well be a desire among Man City fans to see changes to the side, although those will necessarily be limited by the injury issues the club are having to deal with right now.

Even so, there is still scope to rotate in places and it would be no surprise to see Guardiola make some alterations for the game on Sunday (1st December).

In goal, Ederson clearly remains the club’s undisputed number one between the posts, and will surely start between the posts at Anfield.

While he has endured some tough moments recently, Josko Gvardiol is still the best option for the club at left-back, and has come up with some vital goals recently.

The sight of Ruben Dias on the bench after injury in midweek will have been a welcome one for all associated with Man City.

With the defensive collapses becoming a regular occurrence for the club recently, he could come back into the side here to add a much-needed commanding presence in that area.

Given John Stones was absent against Feyenoord, Nathan Ake could be the most reliable option to partner Dias, meaning Manuel Akanji could drop out.

Amid speculation on his future and struggles on the pitch, Kyle Walker may again sit this one out at right-back, giving the younger, fresher Rico Lewis a chance to prove himself against Liverpool’s attack.

Having come off the bench in each of the last four games as he returns from injury, a game of this magnitude could finally be the right time to bring Kevin De Bruyne back into the starting XI.

He could partner Matheus Nunes, giving a better balance between attack and defence than with Ilkay Gundogan, who was caught out badly from a defensive perspective in last week’s defeat to Tottenham.

Ilkay Gundogan drops out of Man City side at Anfield

Out wide, Grealish played the full 90 minutes in midweek, following a late cameo against Spurs last weekend.

Prior to that though, he had missed six straight games through injury, and has struggled for form at the start of this campaign for Man City, leading to doubts over his future at The Etihad.

Guardiola may therefore be inclined to manage his workload for the time being, so Savinho – who has looked sharp since arriving in the summer – may take his place in the starting XI, which could then see Phil Foden switch to the left to facilitate that change.

Bernardo Silva could then once again feature in the number ten role, as he has done regularly this season.

In attack, the goalscoring pedigree of Erling Haaland means he is someone who will surely always start, especially after he got back some of his touch in front of goal with a double against Feyenoord.

In other news, Rodri has seemingly dropped a hint about a potential move to Real Madrid.

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