Pep Guardiola's strongest Man City XI ahead of key Liverpool and Atletico fixtures

Pep Guardiola would dismiss any suggestion that he has a strongest Manchester City XI with ill-disguised contempt. The notion that he has a fixed “strongest team” in his head is not only an attempt at pigeon-holing his players, it would also be disastrous for squad morale.

Guardiola has made it plain that a strong showing in training can alter his perception, and from there the selection, of his team for any given match. The message to all of his players is a valuable one - give your all in training, and you could force your way into the side at any given moment, and any easing-off could have the opposite effect.

The strength of City has been the depth of quality in the squad, even though in terms of numbers it is one of the smallest groups in the Premier League. That allows for rotation without a noticeable drop in standard, and explains why the Blues have been able to roll through long winning sequences that go from midweek to weekend to midweek, without any let-up.

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But there comes a time when the manager’s true preferences are revealed, when he shows his strongest hand and picks the team he feels is the very best he can put out. It is clearly not a permanent XI, and can change at strange moments - like when he picked Ilkay Gundogan ahead of the out-of-form Rodri for the Champions League final. One such moment is coming up, when City face Liverpool in a game that some are spotlighting as a Premier League title decider.

That game is book-ended by two Champions League quarter-final ties against Atletico Madrid, which complicates matters. However the manager shuffles his resources, you can bet that the team he fields at the Etihad Stadium against Jurgen Klopp’s