Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has to face a dilemma to choose his starting XI in the next season as he has a lots of options in his hand. Manchester City’s squad depth will be really vital for them to defend their Premier League title in the next season. There will be a lot of matches to play for Manchester City in the next season. So, all the players will get adequate amount of chances as it seems. Here we will discuss about the probable starters in the defense for Manchester City in the Premier League next season.

Centre-backs :

Pep Guardiola likes to play with a 4-3-3 formation; so we will expect that Manchester City will play with two centre backs in the defense in the next season. Pep Guardiola have Nicolas Otamendi, Vincent Kompany, John Stones and Aymeric Laporte as the centre back options in the next season. Out of these four centre backs, Pep Guardiola has to choose two defenders to start in the Premier League.

1. Vincent Kompany :

In the previous season, the 32 year old Belgian defender Vincent Kompany was injured in the first half of the season. So, Pep Guardiola used to play with the central defensive pair of John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi in the  first half of the previous season. After coming back from the injury, Vincent Kompany has started in 17 matches in the Premier League in 2017-18 campaign. Vincent Kompany’s experience is really needed for Manchester City at the back. He used to lead the side from the back and he has also the ability to score occasional goals from the set piece movements. So, we can expect that Vincent Kompany will surely start as one of the centre backs in the defense for Manchester City in the Premier League next season if he is fit to play.

2. Nicolas Otamendi :

Nicolas Otamendi is the in the pole position to start the game with Vincent Kompany at the back for Manchester City. The 30 year old Argentine centre back has started in 33 matches in the Premier League previous season. In the first half of the season, he used to play with John Stones in the central defense and in the second half of the season, he started with Vincent Kompany in most of the games in the Premier League.

So, we can mostly expect the central defensive pair of Vincent Kompany and Nicolas Otamendi in the first few matches of the Premier League in the next season.

3. John Stones :

John Stones has made 18 appearances for Manchester City in the previous season. He was the regular starter for Manchester City in the first half of the season when Vincent Kompany was injured. His chances have decreased a bit after the returning of Vincent Kompany. The 32 year old Belgian defender Vincent Kompany will not be able to play throughout the whole season. So, we can expect that John Stones will start in some matches in the Premier League in the later stage of the next season.

4. Aymeric Laporte :

Manchester City have signed the 24 year old French centre back Aymeric Laporte in the winter transfer window of 2017-18 season with a transfer fee worth £65 million. The French centre back has started in 9 occasions in the Premier League previous season. With so many options in Pep Guardiola’s hand, Aymeric Laporte might have to sit in the bench in the Premier League matches next season.

Full Backs :

Right Back :

Kyle Walker will always be the first choice right back for Pep Guardiola in the next season in the Premier League. The English International has made 32 appearances and assisted in 6 goals of Manchester City in the Premier League previous season. On the other hand, the 32 year old Brazilian right back Danilo is also an option for Pep Guardiola. Danilo has made 23 appearances for Manchester City in the previous season out of which he has started in only 13 occasions. The Brazilian has scored 3 goals and assisted in two other goals for Manchester City in the previous season. He will try to make his presence felt in the next season too in Manchester City colours.

Left Back :

The 24 year old French left back Benjamin Mendy was the first choice left back for Manchester City in the previous season. But his injury has given the chance to Fabian Delph to flourish himself in that position. Fabian Delph has made 22 appearances for Manchester City in the Premier League previous season. Fabian Delph has scored 1 goal and assisted in two other goals for Manchester City. But, now the situation will be difficult for Pep Guardiola as Benjamin Mendy is fully fit now. We have to watch first few matches of the Premier League as there is a chance of rotation between these two players in alternate games. Oleksandr Zinchenko is another option for Pep Guardiola; but mostly he has to sit in the bench most of the times in the Premier League.