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How Manchester City could line up against Manchester United

Sports Mole looks at how holders Manchester City could line up for Wednesday's EFL Cup semi-final against local rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Manchester City can take another step towards League Cup history when they face Manchester United in the semi-finals at Old Trafford on Wednesday night.

Pep Guardiola's side have lifted the trophy five times in the last seven years including each of the last three, and are looking to become only the second team to triumph four years on the bounce.

However, first they must overcome a Man United side in fine domestic form in what is a repeat of the semi-final from last season's competition.

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



Possible MNC XI vs. MNU

Out: Ederson (coronavirus), Ferran Torres (coronavirus), Eric Garcia (coronavirus), Tommy Doyle (coronavirus), Gabriel Jesus (coronavirus), Kyle Walker (coronavirus), Scott Carson (coronavirus), Cole Palmer (coronavirus), Aymeric Laporte (hamstring)
Doubtful: Nathan Ake (fitness)

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

Manchester City have been severely hit by the coronavirus crisis, with an outbreak in their squad forcing the postponement of a recent Premier League game against Everton and leaving without six players for Sunday's win over Chelsea.

The situation has since become even worse, with Scott Carson and Cole Palmer also being confirmed positive on the day of this game.

Goalkeeper Ederson was perhaps the most high profile of those and he will again sit out for this match, although back-up Zack Steffen may have been in line to deputise anyway, particularly with Carson now out too.

Further forward, Guardiola could still field a strong XI despite his absentees, with Sunday's home FA Cup tie against Championship outfit Birmingham City perhaps a better opportunity to rest players.

Sergio Aguero may be held back for that after making more tentative steps back from an injury-plagued season as a late sub against Chelsea, but he is in contention to lead the line on Wednesday should Guardiola deem him fit enough.

Man City may not make too many more changes than that to their side given the impressive nature of their victory over Chelsea, with Phil Foden, who scored at Stamford Bridge and has directly contributed to nine goals in his last 12 League Cup games, among those hoping to keep his place.

Ilkay Gundogan has also been in good scoring form lately and could start, but Rodri, Raheem Sterling, Bernardo Silva and Oleksandr Zinchenko could drop to the bench.

Benjamin Mendy admitted to a coronavirus breach at New Year but was then defended by Guardiola, suggesting that the manager will have no qualms selecting the full-back in this match after he was an unused sub at the weekend.

Gabriel Jesus and Kyle Walker were revealed to have tested positive on Christmas Day so in theory their 10-day isolation period is now up and they could be in contention, although they will first have to provide a negative result and may not be involved even if they do so.

Ederson, Ferran Torres, Eric Garcia and Tommy Doyle are all also still in self-isolation, while Guardiola's options are further limited by the potential absences of defensive duo Aymeric Laporte and Nathan Ake, both of whom missed out against Chelsea.

Laporte has suffered a minor hamstring strain while Ake failed to pass a fitness test, and both are expected to sit out again given the quick turnaround in fixtures.

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

ID:429203:cQx

Who will progress to the EFL Cup final - Man Utd or Man City

Manchester United
58.7%
Manchester City
41.3%
588
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Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling pictured in October 2020
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Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool1796237211633
2Manchester UnitedMan Utd1610333324933
3Leicester CityLeicester17102531211032
4Tottenham HotspurSpurs1685329151429
5Manchester CityMan City1585224131129
6Southampton178542619729
7Everton169252620629
8Aston Villa1582529161326
9Chelsea1775532211126
10West Ham UnitedWest Ham177552421326
11Arsenal177282019123
12Leeds UnitedLeeds177283033-323
13Wolverhampton WanderersWolves176471824-622
14Crystal Palace176472229-722
15Newcastle UnitedNewcastle165471826-819
16Burnley15447920-1116
17Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton172872128-714
18Fulham152581323-1011
19West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom1715111139-288
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd170215829-212

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