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Manchester City return to Champions League action on Tuesday night when they travel to Villarreal. The Blues have taken four points from their opening two European games and will be looking to end a near 13-month wait for an away Champions League win. Pep Guardiola ’s side have clicked into gear in recent weeks and travel to Spain unbeaten in eight matches across all competitions and with a near fully-fit squad. Only Rodri and Abdukodir Khusanov are sidelined meaning Guardiola has selection dilemmas. Gianluigi Donnarumma will start in goal with the Italian having been a commanding presence since signing from PSG. Josko Gvardiol will surely come back into the team at the heart of defence having been rested against Everton with Ruben Dias set to play alongside him. John Stones was at right back in Monaco and could fill that role again while if Nico O’Reilly has shrugged off the knock he picked up at the weekend he must start given his current form, particularly as Rayan Ait-Nouri has not featured since August due to injury. The midfield axis of Nico Gonzalez and Tijjani Reijnders can continue while Bernardo Silva can come in and offer experience and leadership. Phil Foden, Jeremy Doku and the prolific Erling Haaland have been three of the form players in recent weeks and provide a threatening frontline. Rayan Cherki will be pushing for a start but having only played a few minutes against Everton on his return from injury he may have to contend with a longer run out from the bench. City predicted XI: Donnarumma, Stones, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly; Gonzalez, Reijnders, Bernardo, Foden, Haaland, Doku. --- Here at the Manchester Evening News, we’re dedicated to bringing you the best Manchester City coverage and analysis. Make sure you don’t miss out on the latest City news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe. You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day’s biggest stories. And finally, if you’d rather listen to our expert analysis then make sure to check out our Talking City podcast. Our shows are available on all podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts , and you can also watch along on YouTube .
