PREDICTED LINEUP - MANCHESTER CITY VS LEEDS UNITED - DE BRUYNE, AKE AND FODEN START

An in form Manchester City side face relegation threatened Leeds United, under the new management of Sam Allardyce, in the penultimate Premier League game at the Etihad Stadium this season.

The Blues know that as an absolute maximum, they need to win 4 of their 5 remaining Premier League matches this season to be crowned as Premier League champions for the third successive season, and for the fifth time in six seasons.

This match is unconventional in that it will be televised whilst being shown at 3 o'clock on Saturday, so as not to clash with HRH King Charles III's coronation. That'll be the last thing on Guardiola's mind, however, as he'll be grateful for the movement of this fixture, to give an extra day of rest and preparation for City's UEFA Champions League away tie against Real Madrid on Tuesday night.

In his pre-match press conference, Guardiola gave encouraging news on the injury progress of Belgian maestro Kevin de Bruyne, who trained well yesterday, and looks to be in contention for tomorrow's fixture. This will be a huge boost for City, as they'll need the 32 year old to be at his brilliant best against Real Madrid if they're going to progress to only their second ever Champions League final.

Guardiola also commented on the appointment of new Leeds United manager Sam Allardyce, who very much likes to blow his own trumpet in his press conferences, very much the opposite of the City manager, who loves nothing more than to heap praise on his opponents. The 52 year old Catalan said City will have to adapt inside the first 10 or 15 minutes, as he has no idea how Allardyce's side will line up in his first game as manager of Leeds United.

It is likely that Leeds will be play a less open game than under previous managers Marcelo Bielsa, Jesse Marsch and, most recently, Javi Gracia. They should sit deep and orientate themselves more on long balls, as Allardyce has used these tactics at almost every club he has managed at. This is something City should be comfortable with dealing with, however, with players likely to be rested ahead of the Real Madrid game on Tuesday night, anything could happen.

Guardiola may well choose to give a rest to John Stones, who has had issues with injury this season, which will be interesting from a tactical point of view. Unless he chooses to play Rico Lewis or Bernardo Silva at full back, which seems unlikely, then we'll see a break away from the "3-2" build up that we've seen used so often this season, and it'll be interesting to see how Guardiola changes his system based around this.

Here is our predicted line up for City's important Premier League game against Leeds United:

He sat out the 3-0 victory against West Ham United, but we'd be very surprised if Ederson doesn't start in goal for this one.

Kyle Walker is returning to form at a vital time for Manchester City, and is beginning to consistently start again. We expect him to start this one as well, to build up momentum before his toughest test of the season so far as he face Vinicius Junior on Tuesday night. We do think we'll see John Stones start at centre back, where he'll be partnered by Manuel Akanji, given the fact the Swiss international didn't start against West Ham, meaning Ruben Dias gets a well earnt rest. Nathan Ake should start at left back, with an eye towards a substitution perhaps, as it'd give him the opportunity to build up minutes after his injury.

Rodri could well get a rest at the base of midfield, which means either Kalvin Phillips or Ilkay Gundogan will start there. We're opting for City's skipper, as he is more fitted in with the system, but it wouldn't be surprising to see Phillips given an extended amount of time on the pitch against his former club. This means Bernardo Silva will start as the left sided 8, as this gives City flexibility to switch between 3-2-4-1 and 3-3-1-3 in possession. To give him minutes before the trip to Madrid, it's almost certain that we'll see Kevin de Bruyne feature as the right sided 8, so long as he's fit. We think he'll start for the Blues, with a substitution, like Ake, a possibility.

Riyad Mahrez hasn't had his best few games in a City shirt recently, but we think he'll be given the chance to play from the off tomorrow. Jack Grealish has played a lot recently, so we predict he'll be given a rest before the Real Madrid game, meaning a first start for Phil Foden since returning from injury, with the 22 year old offering impressive late cameos from the bench recently.

Up front, we predict a rare rest for Erling Haaland, meaning Julian Alvarez will start for the third game in a row for City. This will throw a curve ball, as Allardyce prepares his centre backs for a physical battle against Haaland, with the 68 year old humbly saying that even he , one of the most physical players of his era, would've struggled up against the strength of the Norwegian.

This means that we'll see a strong bench for City, which will be excellent if they're to find themselves in a difficult situation in the second half. We predict the bench will be Stefan Ortega Moreno, Rico Lewis, Ruben Dias, Aymeric Laporte, Sergio Gomez, Rodri, Kalvin Phillips, Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland.

CMON CITY!!!