The 26th of December, the Boxing Day brings out some thrilling games every year in the Barclays Premier League. The busy festive season will see teams play games with less than 3 days time which can easily make or break ones season. Manchester City will take on a struggling Sunderland side that will need some positive results to come out of the relegation zone.
The Citizens were beaten at the Emirates in the Monday night game and will hope to bounce back and reduce the deficit at the top of the table when they face the Black Cats. Sam Allardyce’s men were beaten by Chelsea last weekend and will face yet another tough fixture in their relegation battle. Here is the Preview of the game along with the Team news, Expected Line-ups, Predictions and Betting Odds.
The Manchester City vs Sunderland game will be played on Saturday the 26th of December at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester. The kick off is scheduled at 3:00 pm BST (8:30 pm IST)
Team News:
The Citizens have some great news with key players from different positions returning for this game. Vincent Kompany whose loss has been felt by the club badly off late is fit again after 6 weeks and will start in Saturday. Elsewhere, Zabaleta and Fernando are also expected to return to the side while Samir Nasri remains a long term absentee. Sergio Aguero who started against he Gunners is expected to keep his place in the starting XI.
Jermain Defoe is expected to start this game for the visitors on Saturday. Sam Allardyce reported that defender Younes Kaboul will be out for several weeks after an injury. This might make Allardyce change from a 5-3-2 formation that they have been playing off late. Johnson and Borini are both expected to start for the Black Cats.
Expected Line-ups:
Manchester City:
Hart; Sagna, Otamendi, Kompany, Clichy; Fernandinho, Toure; De Bruyne, Silva, Sterling; Aguero
Sunderland:
Pantillimon; Jones, Coates, O’Shea, Van Aanholt; Toivonen, Rodwell, M’Vila; Johnson, Borini; Defoe
Key Battles:
Kompany vs Defoe:
The Belgian center back is just back from injury and will take time to settle into the City back four. His work will be made even tougher as he will face a strong forward in Jermain Defoe from Sunderland. Kompany will not relish the physical battle in his first game after injury and may well give the visitors some hope of a result.
Toivonen vs Silva:
Silva is one of the most creative players in the Premier League and will be a thorn in the flesh for Sunderland in the Boxing Day fixture. Toivonen who has been good in front of the Sunderland defense in recent times will have to be at his best to keep the Spaniard silent for most parts of the game.
Betting Odds:
Manchester City: 2/11
Draw: 6/1
Sunderland: 12/1
Prediction:
This fixture should be relatively easy for Manchester City who will have to play catch up for the rest of the season if they are to win the title. They will try to finish the job in hand comfortable and will hope that the results in other games favor their ascend to the top of the table.
Our Prediction:
Manchester City 3-0 Sunderland