Pep Guardiola must decide whether to stick or twist when star-studded Manchester City resume their title charge against Premier League strugglers Leicester City on Saturday afternoon (5.30pm).
First up to the plate with Arsenal in action 24 hours later, victory for City over the Foxes would see them go three points behind the table-toppers. Guardiola and his men have clocked up five straight domestic wins to put pressure on the Gunners before their match with London rivals West Ham on Sunday afternoon.
A heroic midweek performance against German heavyweights Bayern Munich required plenty of work from City and the 12 players used, but an ongoing battle with Arsenal for Premier League honours means they are not able to rest too many first-choice names.
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Guardiola made one alteration before kick-off against Bayern with Riyad Mahrez replaced by the impressive Bernardo Silva - who scored and provided an assist - while Julian Alvarez was the only man summoned from the City bench on that occasion. Both are in contention to start here with De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan the two most likely to be rested if City do not name an unchanged side.
In that scenario, Bernardo would move inside to allow Mahrez to take up his preferred right-hand berth.
Manuel Akanji, Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake have made shirts their own in this unorthodox formation in which John Stones takes up a hybrid role. As a result, England teammate Kyle Walker and Aymeric Laporte have both struggled to command regular game-time in defence.
On the balance of probability, Guardiola will make one or at most two changes here even with the return leg against Bayern to come at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday night. Leicester visit the Etihad Stadium with only one point taken from their last eight Premier League matches.
Man City predicted line-up vs Leicester City (3-2-4-1): Ederson; Akanji, Dias, Ake; Stones, Rodri; Mahrez, De Bruyne, Bernardo, Grealish; Haaland.
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