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How Manchester City could line up against Tottenham Hotspur

How Man City could line up against Tottenham
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Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at how Manchester City could line up for Sunday's EFL Cup final against Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley.

Three-time defending champions Manchester City could have both Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Aguero back available in time for Sunday's EFL Cup final against Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley.

The star duo returned to training this week and should be in contention to feature in some capacity, although whether Pep Guardiola opts to use them from the start is a different matter.

De Bruyne twisted his ankle against Chelsea in last weekend's FA Cup semi-final and, while the injury is less serious than first feared, the Belgian is unlikely to be risked with a Champions League semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain to come next week.

Guardiola openly admitted in his pre-match press conference that his side's upcoming games in the Champions League and Premier League are "more important" than Sunday's final, suggesting that he will not take any risks with his main man.

Aguero has struggled with injuries throughout his final season at the club and may have to settle for a place on the bench at best in Sunday's match.

John Stones will definitely miss out as he serves the first of a three-match ban following his red card against Aston Villa last time out.

Aymeric Laporte is likely to come in for Stones, while Nathan Ake provides an alternative option, and Guardiola's admission regarding his priorities for the season suggests that more changes are likely.

Zack Steffen will start in goal ahead of Ederson, while the likes of Fernandinho, Ferran Torres, Joao Cancelo and Benjamin Mendy will be hopeful of a starting role too.

Raheem Sterling appears to have fallen out of favour in recent weeks, although that could enable him to play in this final with the increasingly-influential Phil Foden being kept back for the Champions League tie in midweek.

Manchester City possible starting lineup:
Steffen; Cancelo, Dias, Laporte, Mendy; Silva, Fernandinho, Gundogan; Mahrez, Torres, Sterling

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


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How you voted: Man City vs Spurs

Manchester City
50.8%
Draw
8.2%
Tottenham Hotspur
41.0%
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Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero pictured in February 2021
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Olympic medal table header
CountryGold medalSilver MedalBronze MedalT
ChinaChina34241775
United StatesUnited States30352792
JapanJapan22101547
Great BritainGreat Britain17182055
AustraliaAustralia1762043
Today's Olympic highlights header

Friday's key events


HOCKEY
· Great Britain's women aim to secure their place on the podium as they face India in the bronze medal match (2.30am)
· Netherlands - silver medallists five years ago - and Argentina battle for the gold medal in the women's final (11am)

BEACH VOLLEYBALL
· The women's gold medal will be decided as Australia and USA go head to head (3.30am)

BOXING
· Lauren Price will be looking to add to Team GB's success in the ring when she takes on Nouchka Fontijn of Netherlands in the women's middleweight semi-final (6am)

DIVING
· Tom Daley already has one Olympic gold to his name in Tokyo, and he begins his bid for second in the men's 10m platform. Teammate Noah Williams is also involved in the preliminary round (7am)

CYCLING
· Jason Kenny's reign as sprint king may be over, but Jack Carlin looked strong in his bid to succeed his compatriot. He takes on Harrie Lavreysen in his sprint semi-final (8.10am), with the final taking place later in the day (10.35am)
· The women's madison makes its Olympic debut at the velodrome as Team GB duo Katie Archibald and Laura Kenny look to add another medal to their collections (9.15am)

FOOTBALL
· Hosts Japan will look to get themselves on the podium as they face Mexico in the men's bronze medal match (10am)
· The women's champions will be crowned as both Sweden and Canada aim to win Olympic gold for the very first time (1pm)

ATHLETICS
· The men's 5000m final includes Great Britain's Andrew Butchart, but most eyes will be on Ugandan world record holder Joshua Cheptegei (1pm)
· Team GB's Jodie Williams will hope to get on the podium in the women's 400m final, but defending champ Shaunae Miller-Uibo is favourite for gold while Stephenie Ann McPherson should challenge and Allyson Felix is bidding to become the most decorated female track and field athlete of all time (1.35pm)
· Netherlands' Sifan Hassan takes on leg two of her ambitious attempt at a Tokyo treble in a women's 1500m final which also includes Great Britain's Laura Muir and Faith Kipyegon of Kenya (1.50pm)
· A star-studded women's 4x100m relay final will see a Team GB quartet including Dina Asher-Smith look to upset defending champions USA and favourites Jamaica, who boast Elaine Thompson-Herah as she goes for her third gold of the Games (2.30pm)
· Great Britain and Jamaica will also be going for gold in the men's 4x100m relay final, and their medal hopes have been boosted by USA's failure to qualify (2.50pm)

> Today's schedule in full
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