How Manchester City could line up against Everton

Premier League champions Manchester City travel to Goodison Park on Saturday evening knowing that victory over Everton could help them to chase down Merseyside's other top-flight team.

Pep Guardiola's side currently trail Liverpool by five points after six games of the season and, with the Reds taking part in the early kickoff against Sheffield United, City will know by the time they get underway whether they have the chance to close that gap.

A shock defeat at Norwich City earlier this month is the main reason behind that points difference between the top two teams, although since then City have scored 14 goals without reply in three games, including an 8-0 obliteration of Watford in their last league outing.

Here, Sports Mole looks at how Guardiola could line his side up against their out-of-form hosts.

Out: Leroy Sane (knee), John Stones (muscle), Aymeric Laporte (knee) Doubtful: None

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

Man City's defensive woes are well documented, although they have not conceded a single goal since John Stones joined Aymeric Laporte on the sidelines.

The youthful centre-back pairing of Eric Garcia and Taylor Harwood-Bellis impressed in the EFL Cup victory over Preston North End on Tuesday night, but Guardiola is almost certain to recall the more experienced duo of Nicolas Otamendi and makeshift defender Fernandinho.

Benjamin Mendy has played a full 90 minutes over the past two games combined to aid his recovery and could be in line to start this weekend, although given his past injury troubles Guardiola could err on the side of caution and use Oleksandr Zinchenko from the off at Goodison.

Further forward, the Spaniard has the enviable task of trying to fit a host of in-form attackers into his team. The biggest question surrounds Raheem Sterling, who missed out on the eight-goal bonanza against Watford but did return in midweek and was amongst the goals himself then.

Riyad Mahrez, who helped himself to a goal and an assist last weekend, is the most likely to make way should Sterling be recalled, with Bernardo Silva having scored a hat-trick and Sergio Aguero establishing himself at the top of the Premier League goalscoring charts.

However, Bernardo may also be considered for a rest, having played the full 90 minutes both last weekend and on Tuesday night.

City's strength in depth means that rotation is possible in most positions without damaging the quality of the team too much, and the likes of Ilkay Gundogan, Gabriel Jesus and Joao Cancelo are among the players who will also be pushing for starts.