Manchester City will be looking to maintain a 100 per cent start to their Champions League campaign when they welcome Atalanta to the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday night.
Pep Guardiola’s side have beaten Shakhtar Donetsk and Dinamo Zagreb in their first two matches to move onto six points in Group C. They are coming into the contest off the back of a 2-0 success over Crystal Palace in the Premier League.
Atalanta, meanwhile, have lost both matches in their first season in the competition and come into this game as pure underdogs.
Leroy Sane and Aymeric Laporte are both long-term injuries for Manchester City.
Kyle Walker was not involved against Crystal Palace at the weekend due to an illness which forced him to be withdrawn at the interval against Wolves before the international break.
Nicolas Otamendi missed out against Palace with a knock that he picked up while representing Argentina during the international break. He could return for Tuesday’s game, though.
Ederson is City’s undisputed no.1 and was excellent in the 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace, making a host of saves. He’ll start his third Champions League game of the season.
With Walker a doubt, summer signing Joao Cancelo will retain his place at right-back after a solid display against Palace.
Operating as a centre-back, Fernandinho did well at Selhurst Park and helped City earn a clean sheet. He’ll keep his place in the team.
Stones made his return from injury as a substitute in the 2-0 victory at Palace. He’s likely to be handed a start against Atalanta.
Mendy made his return from injury at the weekend and having the Frenchman as an option would be a welcome boost for Guardiola.
Rodri operated as a makeshift centre-back at Palace but he’ll be back to his original position on Tuesday.
Gundogan is an important player for City as he is excellent in retaining possession and distributing the ball all across the park.
De Bruyne’s energy, vision and the exceptional ability to unlock defences from multiple angles makes him an asset to Guardiola’s side. He is a certainty to start against Atalanta.
With his pace, dribbling skills and movement, Sterling could be a pest for the Atalanta defenders on Tuesday.
Guardiola could look to freshen up things a bit in the attack and hand Mahrez a start on the right flank.
Jesus scored in the 2-0 victory over Palace and that could see get another chance to lead City’s attack ahead of Aguero.
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