Kevin De Bruyne questioned and Mendy lost his spot – Manchester City predicted lineup against Norwich

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Pep Guardiola will be encouraged by Jack Grealish’s fitness as he has completed another week of training, bringing him closer to being match ready.

Kevin De Bruyne went into defeating Tottenham in the 79th minute, and although he added much-needed attacking power with his world-class quality, he was nowhere near his full physique.

City fans will be optimistic as they enter their first home game of the season, as their new signing is about to kick off as they look to catch up with other rivals such as Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool.

However, there are concerns about City star De Bruyne, with Pep Guardiola admitting he will not be able to train on Friday ahead of his first home game in the Premier League this season on Saturday.

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Brazil international Ederson is a sure bet to keep his place in goal, with Ruben Dias partnering John Stones at the central defense that served City so well last season. It is unfortunate that Spain international defender Aymeric Laporte lost amid reports of a summer dismissal due to the misery of match time under Guardiola.

Benjamin Mendy struggled against Spurs and is set to lose his place to Oleksandr Zinchenko, who has won an impressive Euro 2020 tournament. Kyle Walker leads in front of Joao Cancelo, who was unable to break through Tottenham’s stubborn defense. Walker offers the ability to switch to three defenses in possession where his speed of recovery can come in handy if Norwich can counterattack.

Together with a powerful Fernandinho – who we prefer over Rodri in this match – Elkay Gundogan could re-play a more withdrawn role than City fans were used to last season as the side became accustomed to the detriment of two floating playmakers in Grealish and De Bruyne.

Fears emerged after the German left the field after a strong intervention in the last minutes of the defeat against Tottenham. But Guardiola spoke on the subject in his press conference on Friday, saying: “Gondogan had a small problem with his ankle. We’ll see how he feels tomorrow.”

Alongside the outstanding De Bruyne, who could make his start to the season for the first time, we expect Grealish and Riyad Mahrez to work on the wings. The Athletic reported that Guardiola expects Grealish to become one of the “Free Eighties” in the future. However, until he is incorporated into the system, it is believed that he will play in his most comfortable position on the left wing.

Raheem Sterling would consider himself extremely unlucky to have not yet started the Euro 2020 campaign where he was arguably the top player in the tournament. However, Mahrez is expected to be Guardiola’s choice on the right wing.

City have clear questions regarding the striker’s position, and there is no doubt that the transfer chiefs will continue to pursue Harry Kane as their priority option. Until then, Gabriel Jesus was in line to make his first start of the season after Ferran Torres struggled to pick Tottenham’s lockout.

Guardiola will seek to renew the novice players with additional momentum in the midfield and attack from the bench. Rodri, Torres and Sterling should be in line to be City’s first three substitutes.

City expect to face Norwich: Ederson. Zinchenko, Stones, Dias, Walker; Fernandinho, Gundogan; Grealish, De Bruyne, Mahrez; Jesus

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