Manchester City vs. Stoke: Team News, Preview, Live Stream and TV Info

Manchester City could go second in the Premier League on Wednesday if they beat Stoke City at the Etihad Stadium.

The Sky Blues are one point behind Tottenham Hotspur with a game in hand, and they'll be looking for their fifth straight league win when they host the Potters.

As for Mark Hughes' side, they will be hoping to build on a 2-0 win over Middlesbrough on Saturday.

Read on for a preview of the match, but first, here are the viewing details and the latest team news:

Date: Wednesday, March 8

Time: 8 p.m. GMT/3 p.m. ET

TV: Sky Sports 1 (UK), NBCSN (USA)

Live Stream: Sky Go (UK), NBC Sports Live (USA)

Team News

Ilkay Gundogan and Gabriel Jesus are both long-term absentees, but Vincent Kompany could make a return for the team and will be a game-time decision, per Dave Fraser of the Sun. The squad is otherwise healthy, and they appeared to come through the 2-0 win over Sunderland unscathed.

Jack Butland and Stephen Ireland remain absentees, but Hughes said Bruno Martins Indi is highly doubtful for the game, while Marko Arnautovic and Glen Johnson are also doubts, per the Stoke Sentinel's Martin Spinks. Xherdan Shaqiri is fully fit, too.

Pete Smith of the Stoke Sentinel shared details of Martins Indi's injury:

Predicted Manchester City Lineup: Willy Caballero; Bacary Sagna, John Stones, Nicolas Otamendi, Gael Clichy; Fernandinho, Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva, Raheem Sterling, Leroy Sane; Sergio Aguero

Predicted Stoke City Lineup: Lee Grant; Glen Johnson, Ryan Shawcross, Geoff Cameron, Erik Pieters; Glenn Whelan, Joe Allen, Mame Biram Diouf, Marko Arnautovic, Ramadan Sobhi; Peter Crouch

Preview

City come into the match on the back of their comfortable victory over Sunderland on Sunday, in which Sergio Aguero continued his rich vein of form with his fifth goal in three matches and his 23rd in 31 appearances in all competitions this term.

The striker made his near-post run and finish look easy, but as Match of the Day host Gary Lineker noted, it still required predatory instinct and movement:

Aguero also impressed with his work off the ball as he helped City press the Black Cats high up the pitch. According to Sky Sports' Nick Wright, the Argentinian made 81 sprints and covered 10.5 kilometres during the match, his highest on both fronts in the league this season.

Indeed, manager Pep Guardiola's demands appear to have added yet another feather to Aguero's considerable cap, and his work from the front has the knock-on effect of improving the whole team, who no longer have to compensate for him when the team isn't in possession.

Team-mate David Silva also put in an outstanding all-action performance, per Sky Sports Statto:

The effervescent Spaniard is one of City's most important players on the ball and, like Aguero, with his work rate off the ball impressing, the Sky Blues are becoming a more effective unit all-round, and the Potters will need to be at the top of their game to come away with a result.

What would also be a huge help in that regard is if Marko Arnautovic and Ramadan Sobhi can replicate their performances against Boro on Wednesday.

Alex Livesey/Getty Images

The former netted an impressive brace, first controlling Glenn Whelan's ball forward superbly before rounding Victor Valdes to fire between two defenders, while the second saw him tapping in from Peter Crouch's knockdown.

Per Spinks, he earned the plaudits from Stoke boss Hughes:

"

He is a big player for us. Not only in stature, but the way he plays the game. When he makes runs across the front it's difficult for defenders to deal with.

He should do it more often, in fairness, and make more chances and goals. But when it does come off for him, he's very difficult to stop.

"

Meanwhile Egyptian winger Sobhi was praised by team-mate Jon Walters:

The 20-year-old is starting to find his feet in the English top flight, and his performance on Saturday perhaps deserved a goal, though he had to settle for rattling the crossbar.

He and Arnautovic are certainly capable of causing City's somewhat fragile defence problems, and they'll need to if Stoke are to have a chance of getting anything out of the match.