First up, we begin with a closer look at what the press have been saying about Sterling.
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On ESPN’s Extra Time, Craig Burley and Steve Nichol heaped praise on the 24-year-old, stating they would pick Raheem over Mohamed Salah at the moment.
“Sterling has taken his game to another level. Everything. Touch, strength, vision. He really has,” the pundits explained.
“Azpilicueta is arguably the most consistent and best right-back in the country.
“Sterling absolutely tore him apart, he didn’t know what to do.
“He didn’t know whether to close him, come off him, he couldn’t handle him for pace.
“You name it, he had Azpilicueta on toast.”
Now we look at Premier League Player of the Year predictions, as a few of our players have been picked out by the Sky Sports’ pundits.
Fernandinho has been chosen by both Paul Merson and Phil Thompson.
Merson writes: “Fernandinho would be in the mix. We have seen that for all superstars that City have got, if he does not play, they are not superstars. He has been outstanding.”
While Thomspon explains: “You have the likes of Fernandinho in there too, who has been amazing, so that would have to be my top three. The defenders do not normally get the plaudits that the goalscorers do, so it would be nice to see Van Dijk or Fernandinho get it.”
Meanwhile, Matt Le Tissier has selected Sergio Aguero to make his shortlist.
Le Tissier scribes: “Sergio Aguero is a big part of how good Man City are, so consistent over a long period of time, so he would have to be in there.”
Finally, we finish on FA Cup squad predictions ahead of this weekend’s trip to Newport County.
An opinion piece in the Manchester Evening News highlights the depth in our squad by stating that Pep Guardiola could field a completely different starting XI on Saturday to the team which our boss put out against Chelsea in our recent Premier League triumph.
Stuart Brennan writes: “Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola could change all 11 players for the FA Cup fifth round clash with Newport.
“At the beginning of a week which sees the Blues head to Schalke for a crunch Champions League last-16 game and culminates in the Carabao Cup final against Chelsea, the game on the Rodney Parade mudheap presents its own challenges.
“But such is the current state of the City squad, with just Claudio Bravo, Benjamin Mendy and Vincent Kompany as injury doubts, that the manager could arguably change the lot and still win the tie.
“He backed youngsters Eric Garcia and Philippe Sandler on a tricky, icy pitch at Burton in the second leg, and they coped well against a team a division above Newport.
“He could field a team which does not include any of the 11 starters who blitzed Chelsea 6-0 – and still look strong.”
That’s all for today’s media watch, but we will be back tomorrow morning with all the latest news and headlines from the back pages.
