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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Simon Bajkowski & Tyrone Marshall & Daniel Murphy

How Man City should line up vs Bayern Munich in Champions League clash

Manchester City have one foot in the Champions League semi-finals but they're not past Bayern Munich yet.

City were sublime in the first leg last week as they ran out 3-0 winners over Bayern Munich in a perfect performance. Rodri opened the scoring with a scorching strike before a powerful Bernardo Silva header and Erling Haaland volley in the second half secured an unforgettable win.

It will all count for nought, though, if City don't finish the job in Germany on Tuesday and advance to the next round to face Real Madrid. Pep Guardiola has no fresh injury concerns to contend with and his star players should actually be feeling fresh after Haaland, John Stones, Ilkay Gundogan, Nathan Ake, Manuel Akanji, Kevin De Bruyne, Rodri and Jack Grealish all got time off at the weekend as the manager was able to make changes and substitutes in the win over relegation strugglers Leicester City.

ALSO READ: New images of £300m Etihad expansion plans as City take next step

As well as being refreshed, the squad is also back to full strength as Phil Foden returned to training on Tuesday morning and was fully involved with his teammates in the session. The playmaker has been out for a few weeks after undergoing surgery to remove his appendix which saw him miss the opening game as well as Premier League fixtures against Liverpool, Southampton and Leicester.

Despite it being his first training session back, Foden has flown to Germany with his teammates and is set to be involved in the game in some capacity. Guardiola said in his pre-match press conference: "We are delighted. It's good news for us. He's just had one training session yesterday. We are excited he will travel with us.

"[He can't play] 90 for sure, but his physicality is special - a speCcial player who doesn’t need lot of training sessions to be fit. It is important not just for tomorrow but for the schedule we have ahead of us."

Even if he doesn't feature at the Allianz, the No.47's return still comes at a perfect time with the FA Cup semi-final against Sheffield United and the potentially title-deciding encounter with Arsenal to come over the next week.

With everything on the line, here is how MEN Sport writers believe City should line up for the match.

Simon Bajkowski

City played so well in the first leg that it seems like common sense to play the same team again. Bernardo Silva was so good on that right wing pressing - and Jack Grealish the same on the opposite flank - that they seem nailed down to play either side of Erling Haaland.

Ilkay Gundogan earned a rest on Saturday so can come back in alongside Kevin De Bruyne and Rodri, and Nathan Ake was sitting pretty alongside the German. Bringing Ake and Manu Akanji back with John Stones and Ruben Dias makes a team that look in top form and extremely difficult to beat.

Guardiola may have some different ideas for the second leg after feeling like City could not control Bayern in certain moments of the first game, but with a 3-0 advantage this looks like City's strongest team and they can give everything knowing a few can put their feet up at the weekend.

Tyrone Marshall

The return of Foden is great news for City, but he will be eased back in and Guardiola is going to take no risks with this game. As we've seen recently, he is playing a strong team and then making changes when the game is won. That could well be the case by the second half in Munich.

There's a strong case to play the same team that beat Bayern a week ago and that's what I would do. I've put Stones in at centre-back as he stepped into midfield from that role a week ago, but this back four knows their roles perfectly at the moment.

Rodri is going to find himself overworked this season, but he can come off earlier if the tie is won and Phillips can get some valuable experience. De Bruyne will feel he has a point to prove after being hooked early last week.

Tyrone has chosen his line-up (Tyrone has chosen his line-up)

Haaland will be desperate to inflict more misery on Bayern, Bernardo was magnificent at the Etihad and Grealish is playing brilliantly at the moment.

Daniel Murphy

If it's not broken, why fix it? City enjoyed one of their greatest-ever European nights last week and put in a perfect display as they battered Bayern Munich. With that in mind, the starting XI should remain the same as it was at the Etihad.

Dan's team (Dan's team)

It seems likely, too, given Pep Guardiola moved to ensure the likes of Manuel Akanji, Ilkay Gundogan, Nathan Ake, Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne, Rodri, John Stones and Jack Grealish all got time off during Saturday's win against Leicester.

Phil Foden's return is excellent news but it's far too risky to throw him in from the start after his time on the sidelines and he instead should be used off the bench if needed.

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