Phil Foden is back performing at his best level, with this improvement coming at a crucial time for Manchester City as they were starting to rely a bit too much on Erling Haaland for their goal output.

Haaland still leads the scoring charts by some distance, having netted 19 goals in the Premier League this season, but Foden has pitched in with seven, making him City’s next biggest goal threat after Erling Haaland. 

Foden has had 39 shots across his 16 appearances in the Premier League this season (2.67 per 90) with 13 of those efforts finding the target (0.89 per 90). Foden has had a shot on target in each of his last five Premier League appearances, managing multiple shots on target in two of those games.

Foden had five shots in the initial league meeting between the sides as Manchester City ran out 3-0 winners over the Black Cats. Foden scored with his only shot on target in that clash, and can be trusted for a shot on target here as City’s second biggest goal threat after Erling Haaland.

Foden has been fouled in four of his last five Premier League matches with the 25-year-old winning 18 across his 16 appearances in the Premier League this season overall (1.23 per 90).

Sunderland can be quite a passive side with the Black Cats only committing 9.90 fouls per game in the Premier League, but City’s expected dominance in the game should see this metric rise slightly. Sunderland committed 10 fouls in their 3-0 defeat to Manchester City at the Etihad, with Foden hauled down once in that clash.

Foden’s main opponent here is likely to be Granit Xhaka, who has been one of Sunderland’s best players this season. Xhaka committed a foul in Sunderland’s 3-0 defeat to City at the Etihad, and is averaging 0.90 fouls committed per 90 in the Premier League this season.

Sunderland have caused sides real issues at the Stadium of Light this season, having avoided defeat across their nine matches, netting 16 goals in the process (1.77 per game).

This includes scoring against Newcastle, Arsenal and Aston Villa at home this season - suggesting that they can cause City problems here. Manchester City have conceded 11 goals across their nine away matches in the Premier League this season, so they are far from watertight at the back when on their travels.

Manchester City conceded in their most recent away game as they came away 2-1 winners over Nottingham Forest. We can expect Sunderland to operate in a similar manner to the way Forest did in that clash, with Sunderland waiting for their moments in transition and on the counter.

Sunderland have scored in all nine of their home matches in the Premier League this season, and I'm not sure that City are the side to finally keep them out with their inconsistent defensive record on the road so far this season.

Robin Roefs was superb again in Sunderland’s 1-1 draw with Leeds last time out as he was forced into making four saves for the 10th time this season. Roefs has been a key factor in Sunderland still avoiding defeat at the Stadium of Light, with Roefs averaging 3.50 saves per game in the Premier League this term.

Roefs was forced into making two stops in the clash between the sides at the Etihad just a few weeks ago, but City had raced into a two-goal lead before half time and didn’t feel the need to keep testing the Sunderland keeper. I think it’ll be a different scenario here with the Black Cats only conceding eight goals across their nine home games so far this season.

This record indicates that City may have to knock on the door a few times before breaching the Sunderland backline, which is conducive to Roefs having to make at least four stops. Roefs has the highest goal prevented tally in the Premier League (3.00) and is only 2nd to Emiliano Martinez (78.8%) when it comes to save percentage (77.8%).

Reijnders was very bright in the early weeks of the season. His form dipped a little in the following months, but he’s settled down again in recent weeks and is a good option to look at for a goal here.

Reijnders really reminds me of Ilkay Gundogan. I think Pep Guardiola is using him in a similar way, with Reijnders having the ability to pop up in crucial moments, which was one of Gundogan’s best traits, and a profile that City never really replaced, even going as far as to bring him back to the club in an unsuccessful experiment last season.

Reijnders has scored in each of his last two matches for Manchester City, taking his goal tally to four for the season - only Phil Foden (seven) and Erling Haaland (19) have scored more goals for Manchester City in the Premier League this season. Reijnders’ recent form, and ability to pop up at the end of City’s attacking sequences make him a solid option to back for a goal here. 

Gvardiol has been playing as a centre back this season, but still retains the threat he carried in the final third when he was playing as a left back. The majority of Gvardiol’s attacking contributions now come from set pieces, an area that Manchester City are expected to have quite a lot of success in.

City’s possession numbers are slightly lower than what we’ve come to expect from Pep Guardiola’s side over the last few seasons, but I’d still expect them to dictate the game and have most of the ball here. This should lead to City having quite a few corners, they're averaging 5.00 corners per game on the road this season.

Sunderland are conceding 4.33 corners per game at the Stadium of Light this term, and the pattern of the game should lead to City having a healthy corner count. Gvardiol has scored two goals this season, with both goals coming against newly-promoted sides from corners - including netting against Sunderland in City’s 3-0 win over the Black Cats a few weeks ago.

Alderete plays with a lot of passion, but this can spill into petulance at times with the 29-year-old picking up two yellow cards across his 14 Premier League appearances so far this season.

This may not seem like the most standout record, but Alderete picked up eight yellow cards across his 34 appearances in La Liga last term, and a clash against Erling Haaland is usually enough to wind up any Premier League centre back.

Alderete played on the left-hand side of a back three in Sunderland’s 3-0 defeat against Manchester City a few weeks ago and committed two fouls. He was very fortunate to avoid a booking on that occasion, with Sunderland committing 10 fouls overall - but only picking up one card.

I can see Alderete reigniting his battle with Erling Haaland here, and he should have more regular run-ins with the dangerous striker as Sunderland are expected to return to a back four here, having been a bit more conservative in their clash at the Etihad.