With more or less a full strength team to chose from, our resident Man City fans in the Transfer Tavern are confident of an assault on the Champions League spots from Pep Guardiola’s men for this second half of the season.

It is fair to say that the Citizens have under performed so far this season with inconsistent results combining with a lack of understanding for Guardiola’s philosophy being the main issue in the blue half of Manchester.

These results have led to many irritable interviews from Guardiola, leading to many punters asking if he can hack English football despite being so successful in Spain and Germany previously. His temperament has been questioned and it is now up to his side to respond in the upcoming fixtures.

Though the Citizens made no deals in January, the return of Fernandinho from suspension must feel like a new signing following his four game ban. The same can be said for skipper, Vincent Kompany who returned after a long lay off following a knee injury. There is no doubt that the return of these two men will enhance the Citizens defensively.

City face Swansea at the weekend and the last time these two met, a Sergio Aguero double combined with a Raheem Sterling strike saw City take all three points in a 3-1 victory at the Liberty Stadium. With home advantage this time around, our landlord can only see one winner in Manchester City and here is the XI he predicts will seal the deal for the hosts…

GK: Willy Caballero

With a save percentage of just 55% to shots faced on target this season, it is easy to see why many Citizen punters in the Transfer Tavern are cursing Bravo currently. This has resulted in Guardiola changing his keeper to Caballero in the recent fixture at West Ham in the week and our landlord expects him to stick with this decision.

RB: Pablo Zabaleta

Our landlord fully expects Zabeleta to edge out Bacary Sagna and regain his position of right back following Guardiola’s abandonment of the experiment in playing Zabeleta in centre midfield.

CB: Vincent Kompany

The City captain has been a welcome boost to City fans in the Transfer Tavern as he is seen as a true fans favourite despite his injury problems. Our landlord expects Kompany to be rotated in for John Stones in this game.

CB: Nicolas Otamendi

Will be thrilled with the return of Kompany meaning there is a more solid look to the heart of City’s defence.

LB: Gael Clichy

Left back is a position that really needs strengthening by Pep Guardiola in the summer with Clichy and Aleksandar Kolorov looking less than convincing in this campaign.

CDM: Fernandinho

Fernandinho’s return is a real boost to Pep Guardiola as he is a player who adds a much needed balance to this City side. Our landlord expects Yaya Toure to sit this one out to accommodate the Brazilian.

RAM: Raheem Sterling

The Englishman has improved this season under Guardiola and will be looking to be successful against a Swansea side that he has already scored against this season.

CAM: David Silva

The Spanish wizard will be looking to have creative impact after being stifled by the opposition many times in the first half of the season.

CAM: Kevin De Bruyne

The Belgium international has been moved around in many positions this season but he looks more comfortable in the middle of the park where he can have a big impact on the game.

LAM: Leroy Sane

Our landlord has been impressed by the form of Sane over the last few weeks and expects him to be rewarded with another start vs Swansea.

ST: Sergio Aguero

The City hitman hasn’t been the same since his red card against Chelsea but against a lacklustre Swansea defence, Aguero could regain his form with a good performance here. He will be under pressure following Gabriel Jesus’ strong performance against West Ham, though.

Agree, City fans? Let us know below!