Manchester City are certainly longing for the reset and new beginnings that the new year will bring.
Boxing Day draw with Everton means City’s slump extends to one win in 13 games in all competitions. Their position in the brand new phase of the Champions League is uncertain, and their drop to seventh place in the Premier League table means that the perennial champions currently have no ambitions to win a fifth consecutive title.
Top four is the goal. Who would think of that?
Despite this, the Cityzens at least have a chance to end 2024 on a high this weekend. While City has performed as fodder for droppings over the past few months Leicester’s slow slide towards the second division seems inevitable – even with Ruud van Nistelrooy in charge.
Here’s how City could line up for their final appearance of the calendar year.
GK: Stefan Ortega – Ederson missed against the Toffees due to the strike and quick turnaround, they could allow Ortega to keep his place between the bats.
RB: Rico Lewis – Kyle Walker has gradually fallen out of favor and is likely to miss Sunday’s game due to illness. Given the lack of options at City, Lewis is a shoo-in at right-back.
CB: Manuel Akanji – The Swiss defender has long been a calming presence amid the storm, but even Akanji’s cheerfulness can’t save this City team. He didn’t cover brilliantly in the run-up to Everton’s equalizer on Boxing Day.
CB: Nathan Ake – The return of Ake is a big boost for the champions, but he will have to be managed carefully. The Dutchman was unable to finish the entirety of Thursday’s 1-1 draw and was substituted in the second half. However, he is not dealing with another injury.
LB: Josko Guardiol – The Croatian has made miss after miss this season, but remains a threat in the final third from left back. Unlike his defensive teammates, Guardiol stayed injury free.
DM: Ilkay Gundogan – There could be a rotation in the base of the midfield with Gundogan replacing Mateo Kovačić. The German has struggled this term, but Leicester are hardly a deadly force on the counter-attack.
RM: Bernardo Silva – Bernardo seemed to set the ball rolling for a vintage City strike against Everton, but the Toffees only needed one opener to equalize and eventually share the spoils.
AM: Kevin De Bruyne – The Belgian has been in and out of the side amid City’s poor run but could return to the XI after coming off the bench on Boxing Day. De Bruyne has a decent catalog of goals in the King Power.
AM: Phil Foden – It’s been a quiet season for Foden, but at least there have been flashes in the past few games. The English international scored his first league goal of the season last week at Villa Park.
LM: Jeremy Doku – Doku is far from perfect, but he was key to City’s early success against Everton. The Belgian can provide a spark and an injection of pace to an attack that often looks pedestrian.
ST: Erling Haaland – The City striker has scored only once since the international break in November and his The scoring woes continued on Boxing Day as he made a poor penalty save against Jordan Pickford. Maybe a replacement for Julian Alvarez was needed all along.
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