John Stones returns and Jack Grealish starts – Manchester City predicted lineup against Tottenham Hotspur

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Manchester City are looking to make a successful start to their Premier League title defense when they travel to Tottenham Hotspur to face Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday afternoon.

City, who battled their way to a fifth Premier League title last season, are hoping to spoil Tottenham manager Nuno Espirito Santo’s first competitive match with the north London club.

Moreover, the Blues, who lost 2-0 on their last visit to the Tottenham Hotspur stadium, will be looking to return after Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Leicester City in the FA Shield at Wembley.

Unfortunately for City boss Pep Guardiola, who added Jack Grealish to his squad in a massive £100m deal this summer, he will not be able to name a squad as strong as he would have liked, with injury issues and player reports. He returned late from international duty which deprived the club of a pre-season campaign in full force.

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However, Guardiola still has a wealth of talent to choose from, which means they should have enough of them to secure their first win at Tottenham Hotspur.

Despite only returning to training on Tuesday morning, Brazilian goalkeeper Ederson is expected to start between the sticks this weekend. Zach Stephens started the defeat to Leicester and is ahead of Ederson in terms of fitness levels, but the Brazilian is ready to get a nod.

The quarterback is likely to see Joao Cancelo, John Stones, Robin Dias and Benjamin Mendy start. Among the three pre-season games, City, as well as the FA Shield, Cancelo, Dias and Mendy put in major performances, meaning they will all be in good shape to start.

As for Stones, like Ederson, he only returned to training on Tuesday, but is expected to be pushed straight to the side to replace Nathan Ake at the center of defence.

Choose your City team to face Tottenham here:

It’s in the middle of the field where Guardiola will face the toughest choice. Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden will certainly miss out due to injury, but he still has plenty of options at his disposal to fill those gaps. Youngster Cole Palmer, who started against Leicester, is likely to withdraw, paving the way for Rodri to join Ilkay Gundogan and Fernandinho in midfield.

As for the front three, Riyad Mahrez is a certain starter having been a constant threat in pre-season, and he will surely line up either in the middle or on the right. If he starts out in his normal wide role, Ferran Torres will likely be deployed across the middle as Gabriel Jesus returned to training just days ago. Grealish should line up to the left of the front three, leaving Raheem Sterling on the bench.

Predicted city XI vs Tottenham: Ederson. Cancelo, Stones, Dias, Mendy; Rodri, Fernandinho, Gundogan; Mahrez, Torres, Grealish.

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