Bayern Munich vs. Manchester City: Predicting City XI for Champions League Match

Manchester City are fortunate that a football club is only as good as its next result, because their recent performances would label the Sky Blues as subpar.

Dropping five out of six possible points in a home loss to Stoke City and a road draw with Arsenal has plunged Manuel Pellegrini's club five points back of league-leading Chelsea in the Premier League table. Chelsea are next for Manchester City in the league but first the Citizens have some other business.

Namely, Manchester City are off to the Allianz Arena to renew Champions League hostilities with Bayern Munich.

Neither Manchester City nor Bayern could have been too thrilled with being drawn together in Champions League group play for the second consecutive season. Maybe this time at least we will all be spared the group's winner being determined by a third-grade math error.

All that said, Manchester City can rewrite their own mediocre narrative with one heroic performance against Bayern. And they certainly have recent encouraging history to draw on.

Here is a look at how Pellegrini might set up his XI against Bayern in the first Champions League match for both clubs.

Goalkeeper

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Hart is seemingly always one mistake away from losing his job now.

Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart could be forgiven for loathing City's draw of Bayern Munich in this season's Champions League group stage.

Hart faced Bayern twice last season, and both performances were scarred by misplays by City's then-and-now beleaguered goalkeeper.

His first shot at Bayern was an abject disaster. "First he fumbled Franck Ribery's long-range effort into the net as the holders took an early lead, then he was too easily beaten at his near post after the break as Arjen Robben wrapped up a thoroughly deserved win for Pep Guardiola's side," wrote Phil McNulty for BBC Sport.

At the Allianz Arena, City won the match but Hart did not exactly cover himself in glory, per Sky Sports:

"

Hart, making only his second appearance in 10 City games, had already endured a nervy moment due to a miscued attempted backpass from Lescott when Muller put Bayern 1-0 up. The forward chested down a lofted delivery from Dante, got the better of City's skipper-for-the-night Kolarov and fired past the England goalkeeper.

"

If Hart makes an early error that costs City a goal against Bayern this time around, Pellegrini might well use his first substitution to put Willy Caballero into the game.

Such is the tenuous grip Hart has on his job now.

Defenders

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Kompany will lead the City defense, as usual.

Chris Wheeler's recent report in the Daily Mail indicated that "Frank Lampard and Eliaquim Mangala are ready to make their Manchester City debuts as the Premier League champions face a critical run of three games in the space of eight days, Manuel Pellegrini has confirmed."

Lampard did in fact debut in sky blue against Arsenal. Mangala, however, still has yet to play a minute for City.

It is hard to imagine Pellegrini chancing Mangala against Bayern here. Martin Demichelis just nodded home the goal that saved a point against Arsenal, after all. Demichelis will get the start alongside Vincent Kompany in the center of the City defense.

Aleksandar Kolarov and Bacary Sagna should flank the centre-backs. Pablo Zabaleta is a better option than Sagna, but Zabaleta is suspended for this match following the red card he was shown in Champions League play at Barcelona last season. Perhaps that is for the best, as he will be needed against Chelsea this weekend.

Central Midfielders

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City need Toure to play with purpose against Bayern.

Manchester City appear ready to placate Yaya Toure, which may not have been as wise as selling him but would surely be wiser than allowing him to continue to mope.

"Toure's City future was in doubt during the summer following bizarre claims that the Ivorian was upset that his side didn't give him a birthday cake," wrote Ashley Clements for the Daily Mail. "The 31-year-old is contracted to City until 2017 but looks set to extend his current deal at the Etihad."

Hopefully this news will spark a bravura performance from the Ivorian against Bayern, because City will surely need it.

By now you may be wondering whether the City formation prediction here is 4-4-2 or 4-5-1 (or 4-2-3-1 if you prefer). The next paragraph will answer that question.

David Silva and Fernandinho will probably join Toure in the middle of the pitch. And as the next slide will attest, they will have help.

Wingers

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Nasri (right) is in form these days.

Pellegrini's Frank Lampard experiment at the Emirates lasted all of one half, as the ex-Chelsea man was replaced by former Gunner Samir Nasri against Arsenal this past weekend.

Lampard is on City's Champions League roster, but he should only see the pitch against Bayern if City take a three-goal lead. He can come on for Sergio Aguero at that point.

Nasri and Jesus Navas (who assisted on Aguero's opener against Arsenal) will provide the pace and service to David Silva, whose primary job will be setting up Aguero and others to score at the Allianz.

Striker

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As long as Aguero is in this kind of form, Pellegrini has to ride him.

Sergio Aguero is in the middle of one of his scoring binges (three goals in four appearances), and therefore Manuel Pellegrini would be insane not to start him against Bayern.

Plus, Pellegrini need not worry about Aguero being too worn out since the Argentine was removed after 66 minutes against Arsenal out of concern for Aguero's ability to keep his mouth shut.

“I’m sure in the next play that he [Aguero] would be sent off,” Pellegrini said, according to Jason Burt in The Telegraph. “The referee had given him a yellow. Sergio was very angry and had all the reason to be very angry.”

If Aguero keeps scoring in 75 percent of City's matches, neither Pellegrini nor Aguero should have much to be angry about going forward.