Man City vs Sunderland: Foden and Reinildo both suspended

Manchester City vs Sunderland at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon comes with a suspension on each side. City, who have won all four of their league matches, will be without Phil Foden, sent off for violent conduct in the Manchester derby and serving a three-match ban. Sunderland will be without Reinildo Mandava, sent off for a second yellow card at the end of the defeat by Arsenal and banned for one match. City are second on twelve points, level with Arsenal; Sunderland are fourteenth on four.

Sunderland also have a Europa League match at home to AZ Alkmaar on Wednesday 16 September. City play Norwich City in the Carabao Cup on Thursday 17 September, which is the first match of Foden’s ban.

City: perfect, and not always comfortable

City’s four league wins have come in very different ways. They came from behind to beat Bournemouth 2-1 with goals from Marc Guéhi on eighty-four minutes and Josko Gvardiol in stoppage time. They won 4-1 at Crystal Palace, beat Coventry City 1-0 and then won 1-0 at Old Trafford last Sunday after Foden’s dismissal on twenty-three minutes left them with ten men for more than an hour.

Erling Haaland has four league goals and has scored in each of the last three league matches. City have conceded two league goals, the joint second-fewest in the division, and eleven shots on target, the third-fewest, and have scored three of their eight goals from the eightieth minute onwards. They also won their Champions League opener, 2-0 away to FC Porto on 8 September.

Haaland’s four league goals have all come in City’s last three league matches: two at Selhurst Park, the winner against Coventry City and the goal at Old Trafford.

Sunderland: tight matches, few goals

Sunderland lost 2-1 at Ipswich Town on the opening weekend to a ninetieth-minute goal, beat Fulham 1-0 through Wilson Isidor, drew 1-1 at Brentford with an Enzo Le Fée penalty, and lost 2-0 at home to Arsenal last Saturday, when David Raya saved Le Fée’s penalty at 0-0 and Arsenal scored two minutes later.

The defensive record has been respectable: opponents have put ten league shots on target against Sunderland, the second-fewest in the division behind Arsenal. Scoring has been harder. Sunderland have three league goals, from Nilson Angulo, Isidor and Le Fée, one each. They are through to the fourth round of the Carabao Cup after beating Hull City 1-0 on 8 September.

Away from home in the league Sunderland lost 2-1 at Ipswich and drew 1-1 at Brentford, conceding in both. They have scored first in only one of their four league matches, against Fulham, and have trailed in three. City, at home, have won both league matches and conceded once, Marcus Tavernier’s opener for Bournemouth on the opening weekend.

• Manchester City: second, 12 points, 8 scored and 2 conceded; four league wins from four
• Sunderland: fourteenth, 4 points, 3 scored and 5 conceded
• Phil Foden (Manchester City) serves the second match of a three-match ban
• Reinildo Mandava (Sunderland) is suspended for one match
• Erling Haaland has scored in each of City’s last three league matches

What the match turns on

City will have the ball: they have averaged 65.3% possession in the league, the second-highest share behind Brighton. The question is whether Sunderland’s defence, which has limited opponents to ten shots on target in four matches, can keep the game close for long enough to make a set piece or a counter-attack count.

City’s recent matches suggest they may not need to dominate to win. At Old Trafford they had 45.3% of the ball and six shots in the match, and Haaland’s goal on the hour was enough. At home, though, they have tended to take control: 66.1% against Bournemouth and 77.6% against Coventry.

For Sunderland, the Europa League match on Wednesday comes four days before kick-off, and Reinildo’s absence removes the left-back who started against Arsenal. City’s Carabao Cup tie on Thursday gives them one day less of rest.

Kick-off is at 14:00 on Sunday.

Simulate the match before kick-off

A perfect start against a side that defends well but scores little, with a suspension on each side, is worth running before the weekend. Put Manchester City vs Sunderland through the AI simulator on this site and see how often Sunderland keep it close.

• Run this fixture through the AI match simulator, in tactical view or in the physics arena
• Simulate this week’s Carabao Cup third-round ties, including Manchester City against Norwich City
• Play the remaining 34 rounds from the real table and the real fixture list
• Open the line-up builder for both clubs before you kick off a simulation
• Turn an arena simulation into a vertical video ready to share

"City have won all four league matches, one of them with ten men. Sunderland have allowed ten shots on target in the league all season."