Goalkeeper And Defence
GK – Ederson – there has been a lot of speculation about the keeper’s future this summer, with teams in Saudi Arabia having tabled offers for the Brazilian. However, the club’s No.1 has confirmed that he will stay and he is likely to be picked ahead of Stefan Ortega.
RB – Rico Lewis – Kyle Walker has just started training in the last few days so the right-back is only expected to make the bench. His young understudy is set to be given the nod by Guardiola.
CB – Manuel Akanji – very solid against United, and his winning penalty in the Community Shield will be some consolation after missing a crucial one for his country at Euro 2024.
CB – Ruben Dias – the centre-back didn’t have his best game at Wembley. He was off the pace but you could potentially excuse it as a touch of ring rustiness. Guardiola will be looking for an improvement at Stamford Bridge.
LB – Josko Gvardiol – the Croatian international is firmly established at left-back, and fans will be hoping to see the form he showed at the back end of last season.
