How Manchester City could line up against Chelsea

Manchester City will be looking to make it three wins from three since returning to Premier League action when they face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Thursday night.

The champions have been in imperious form since resuming their campaign after lockdown, cruising past Arsenal and Burnley while scoring eight goals without reply in the process.

Pep Guardiola's side have prolonged their title reign as a result, but know that any slip-up in West London could hand Liverpool the trophy before the top two meet on July 2.

Here, Sports Mole looks at how Man City could line up for the contest.

Out: Sergio Aguero (knee), Eric Garcia (concussion) Doubtful: Phil Foden (knock), John Stones (ankle), Claudio Bravo (hamstring)

> Click here for Man City's latest injury and suspension news ahead of this match

Man City's faultless return in terms of form has not quite been matched in terms of fitness, and club-record goalscorer Sergio Aguero could miss the remainder of the season after aggravating a knee injury against Burnley.

The Argentine will visit a specialist in Barcelona but is expected to undergo surgery which could ensure that he does not play again in 2019-20, leaving Gabriel Jesus to lead the line.

Guardiola rotated heavily between the matches against Arsenal and Burnley, with David Silva and Riyad Mahrez the only two outfield players to have started both games.

Mahrez's brace against Burnley may be enough to earn him another start on Thursday, but Silva may be rested and Phil Foden, who also scored twice on Monday night, will hope to be handed another start too.

Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling and Ilkay Gundogan are among the other players who could come back into the starting XI, while there could be numerous changes at the back too.

Guardiola named an entirely different back four in both games so far and could return to the unit which faced Arsenal - minus Eric Garcia, who is still unable to play due to concussion protocols.

John Stones is still a doubt, which means that Fernandinho could fill in alongside Aymeric Laporte at centre-back, while Kyle Walker and Benjamin Mendy are expected to return at full-back.

> Click here to see how Chelsea could line up for this contest