Sunderland vs. Manchester City, 2017 Premier League: Predicted Lineup

After scoring five goals in back to back games, Manchester City are in pretty good form for their trip to Sunderland this Sunday. The Black Cats have seen better days and are certainly a candidate for relegation this season.

Pep Guardiola put out a strong eleven for his team's match against Huddersfield Town in the FA Cup on Wednesday and supporters will be curious if Pep sticks with a similar eleven.

Below are the eleven players I predict Pep will select in his starting lineup Sunday. Of course we’ll be sticking with the 4-3-3.

Goalkeeper: Willy Caballero

No surprises in goal as Claudio Bravo continues to not make saves and Caballero has been playing well. It appears obvious that neither Caballero nor Bravo are the long term answer in goal, but in the interim Caballero is getting the nod.

Defense: Bacary Sagna, John Stones, Aleksandar Kolarov, Fernandinho

The easy decisions in defense are Sagna and Stones: both offer good defensive play and passing ability and both should start in Premier League games. The harder decisions lie on the left. Kolarov hasn’t been starting recently, but that could be down to a small injury; if the Serbian is fit expect him starting in some capacity.

Fernandinho was roasted against Monaco at left-back, but Sunderland are no Monaco. Perhaps Pep will favor someone at left-back with more passing and possession skills than Gaël Clichy.

Midfield: Yaya Touré, David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne

With Fernandinho playing in defense, the midfield is open for City’s best three in that position. Touré, Silva and De Bruyne are clearly the best three players in the middle and hopefully Silva can continue his incredibly form.

Forwards: Raheem Sterling, Sergio Aguero, Leroy Sané

No doubt about this one. With Gabriel Jesus still injured, Aguero, Sané and Sterling are the clear choice for City’s forward group. Jesus Navas, Nolito, and Kelechi Iheanacho may be used more in the FA Cup games considering City have a rough set of fixtures upcoming, but Pep will certainly have his mind on all three points and the starting forwards are the players to get them.

So that’s our predicted lineup! As for a score prediction I’ll say 3-0 City, with goals from Agüero, De Bruyne and Sané.