Manchester City will be back in action this weekend with the first international break of the season now out of the way.
Having put themselves at the top of the Premier League table by beating Chelsea, Ipswich Town and West Ham United, City will be taking on Brentford at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
The Blues head into this game off the back of seeing some of their players feature for their countries in the recent round of Nations League fixtures.
In terms of what Pep Guardiola’s starting XI could look like for Saturday’s clash against the Bees, one player who was in action on the international stage recently should be starting for City on this occasion.
Pep Guardiola must start Jack Grealish against Brentford
After being an unused substitute in City’s first league games of the season against Chelsea, Jack Grealish made his first appearance of the campaign as a second-half substitute in the 4-1 home win over Ipswich.
Having then been given his first start against West Ham where he completed 72 minutes at the London Stadium, the winger was called up to feature in England’s recent matches against Ireland and Finland.
Starting both games under Lee Carsley’s guidance, the 29-year-old featured in an attacking-midfield role rather than his usual left-wing position.
Scoring the second goal in England’s 2-0 win over Ireland, Grealish found himself being reassured by Carsley, who said after the game that he has no doubts about the City star’s quality.
Grealish will want to take his international form to City
Looking back over City’s win at West Ham, the £300k-a-week player ended up making three key passes and two tackles before being replaced by Matheus Nunes.
This highlights just how useful he can be on and off the ball.
Looking ahead to the Brentford match, it’ll be interesting to see not only if Guardiola starts Grealish but also if he puts him back on the left-wing or tries him in the attacking-midfield role he shone in for England.
