Reigning Premier League champion Manchester City returns to action in the English top flight to take on Fulham at the Etihad Stadium.
Pep Guardiola's team dropped four points in its last two league matches against Newcastle at St. James' Park and vs. 10-men Arsenal at home. City sits in second place in the Premier League on 14 points, just one point off first place Liverpool.
City heads into the weekend matchup with a bit of momentum after its first UEFA Champions League win in the new format. The Citizens followed up a 1–1 draw at home against Serie A giant Inter Milan in the first round with a comprehensive 4–0 triumph away to ŠK Slovan Bratislava.
Guardiola handed attacking midfielder Phil Foden his second start of the season resulting in a goal and an assist for the England international. As City don't have the squad depth they would like due to injuries, Guardiola had no choice but start players like Erling Haaland, Savinho, Jérémy Doku and İlkay Gündoğan—only Haaland was taken off while the other three players lasted the full 90 minutes.
City will be without Kevin De Bruyne and Nathan Aké in the short-term as both players work back to full fitness from their respective groin and hamstring injuries. Aké is likely to return near the end of October while De Bruyne could return rather soon. "Hopefully after the international break [Kevin] will be back," Guardiola said ahead of the match against Bratislava.
