How Manchester City could line up against Southampton

Manchester City will again be without central defenders John Stones and Aymeric Laporte for Saturday afternoon's Premier League clash with Southampton.

Both Stones and Laporte were absent against RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Wednesday, and the pair will again not be in the squad against the Saints, so Nathan Ake is in line to feature for a second successive match.

Head coach Pep Guardiola will be looking to balance his squad over the next few weeks, as there are huge games against Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool to come.

Guardiola is likely to resist the temptation to shuffle his pack against an improving Southampton, though, meaning that there are not expected to be many surprises in terms of team selection.

Kyle Walker should come back into the side at right-back, while there is likely to be a change in central midfield, with Ilkay Gundogan taking the place of Bernardo Silva.

It would also not be a surprise to see an alteration in the final third of the field, with Gabriel Jesus potentially coming in for Riyad Mahrez.

Phil Foden made his return from injury off the bench against Leipzig, and the England international is again set to be among the substitutes at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Manchester City possible starting lineup: Ederson; Walker, Ake, Dias, Cancelo; De Bruyne, Rodri, Gundogan; Jesus, Torres, Grealish