Today, Manchester City will face Sunderland at the Etihad Stadium in their final Premier League match before the international break. Under the guidance of Enzo Maresca, the team has celebrated six consecutive victories across all competitions at the season's start and aims to extend their impressive streak.
Maresca is anticipating a tough challenge from Regis Le Bris' side. The Black Cats are physically robust and possess significant pace in their attack. City will need to deliver their best performance to take advantage of Arsenal's slip-up after they lost 3-0 to Brighton earlier this week.
In terms of squad news, Enzo Maresca has indicated that Jeremy Doku is likely to feature in the game. The Belgian winger has recovered from a calf injury sustained during the Community Shield in August. However, as he has not played since August 16, he is expected to start on the bench. There are no other injury concerns for the squad.
Phil Foden will miss the match due to suspension. The midfielder is serving a three-match ban following his red card in last week's narrow victory over Manchester United (1-0) in the derby. Foden will only be eligible to return to the pitch on October 14, when City face PSG in the Champions League.
In their recent cup match against Norwich, which ended 5-0, Maresca made several changes to the lineup. For the league fixture, however, the Italian manager is expected to revert to his strongest players to put forth a solid team against Sunderland.
