After the hustle and bustle of transfer deadline day, thoughts at the Etihad return to the cup.
After yet another transfer deadline day has come and gone for Manchester City, thoughts at the Etihad Stadium now turn to Fulham and the FA Cup.
Pep Guardiola’s men have not quite been as successful in this cup competition as they have in the League Cup in recent years, so the Catalan will be keen to go deep this time around.
But, in these early rounds there is a temptation for City to rotate the starting 11.
At MEN Sport we think there are five first team players who should definitely start against Fulham this Saturday; take a look at who they are below.
Jack Grealish
The £100m man admitted himself recently that his stats have not been as good as many had been expecting when he made the move from Villa over the summer.
Just three goals and three assists in 23 appearances this season is not reflective of Grealish’s immense ability.
A start on Saturday without the presence of Kevin De Bruyne could do him the world of good, with City fans keen to see the former Villa star on the scoresheet.
Riyad Mahrez
Mahrez had a nightmare time at AFCON with Algeria; the reigning champions were humbled in their group with their captain the subject of plenty of criticism.
The Southampton fixture just before the international came just too soon for the forward, however a start against Fulham will allow him to get back up to speed again before the Premier League returns.
Nathan Ake
He may not always be the first name on the teamsheet but the Dutch defender has steadily improved since a rocky start to his City career.
A superb performance against Arsenal in the Premier League — including a heroic goal line clearance — wasn’t enough for him to secure a position in the starting line-up for fixtures against Chelsea and Southampton.
Ake deserves a start to continue to showcase his improvements.
Oleksandr Zinchenko
The Ukrainian is something of a forgotten man over in the blue half of Manchester these days.
Following the 6-3 victory over Leicester City on Boxing Day, Zinchenko has not been seen in the starting line-up and is desperately in need of game time.
Fulham provides the perfect opportunity to get minutes in his legs.
Cole Palmer
There has been no such worries about forgetting this man though.
Palmer stood out above the rest in City’s 4-1 victory against Swindon Town in the previous FA Cup round, despite a sea of world class stars taking to the field in Wiltshire.
The teenage sensation should now be given the chance to show what he has got against tougher opposition.
