Sutton's predictions: Man City v Sunderlandpublished at 11:00 BST 20 September
11:00 BST 20 September
Sunderland are a really good team and, on their day, they are more than a match for anyone.
The Black Cats are strong and robust, and when they get after teams and press you then they are phenomenal.
All of that makes me think this is a really hard game for Manchester City.
Their derby victory was a brilliant win, and Enzo Maresca's biggest result as their manager so far with the way they did it.
Iliman Ndiaye showed what a good signing he is when he came on for Rayan Cherki in the second half at Old Trafford, in terms of offering a different profile.
Cherki's more of an inside forward, as a number 10 or playing narrow, and he's a guy you think you couldn't get the ball off in a telephone box.
Ndiaye, though, will do more work going back and is also more of a ball carrier, so he was exactly what City needed when they went a man down.
Manchester United can feel hard done by because City's winner should have been disallowed, but the visitors were the better team with 10 men.
This will be a very different task for Maresca's men, with the emphasis on them breaking down the Black Cats, but I don't feel it will just be one-way traffic.
I still think City will find a way, though, and they need to for the sake of the title race. They already seem to be the only team capable of keeping pace with Arsenal.
Man City v Sunderland: Key stats and talking pointspublished at 13:37 BST 19 September
13:37 BST 19 September
Chris Adams BBC Sport journalist
Manchester City will look to maintain their 100% league record under Enzo Maresca when they welcome Sunderland to Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
Maresca's tenure got off to a wobbly start with the Community Shield defeat by Arsenal, but his troops have rallied to ensure they are level on points with the table-topping Gunners at this early stage, trailing only on goal difference.
In fact, the Italian is aiming to become just the sixth manager to win his first five Premier League games in charge of a club.
The Blues, last season's runners-up, are on a mightily impressive run of league form, having lost just two of their past 30 matches, winning 20 and drawing eight.
Their record at home to the Black Cats is also enviable. City are unbeaten in all 14 of their Premier League home games against Sunday's opposition, winning 12 of those encounters. Sunderland's last league win in this fixture came at Maine Road in the second tier in January 1998.
Sterling Erling
Erling Haaland, Golden Boot winner in three of his four campaigns in England, is already the pace-setter for this season's prize with four goals. Sunderland, however, are the only top-flight team he has faced without scoring.
The Norwegian has scored in eight of his past nine league appearances, netting nine goals. In two games against the Black Cats, he had had three shots with an xG of 0.75 without finding the net. Don't bet against him breaking his duck on Sunday.
Stadium of delight
Juggling Sunderland's European commitments with their domestic schedule was always going to be one of the biggest tasks facing Regis le Bris this season.
Having got their Europa League campaign off to a winning start against AZ Alkmaar on Wednesday – the club's first game in continental competition since 1973 – the Black Cats must focus on climbing the Premier League table after an unconvincing start.
Four points from four games has them sitting 14th, and history suggests this won't be the fixture to propel them up the table. The Black Cats haven't won any of their past 17 top-flight games against teams starting the day in the top two, losing 13 and drawing four.
Couple that with the fact they are winless in nine league games against Manchester City – since a 1-0 home victory under Gus Poyet in November 2013 – and it looks like a tall order for Le Bris' side to head back to Wearside with all three points.
Something for Sunderland to cling to, however, is the fact they have scored in each of their past eight league away games, their best run of scoring on the road in this competition since another run of eight in 2015-16.
The atmosphere at the Stadium of Light against AZ was electric and Le Bris is keen for that feelgood factor to continue. It is a demanding schedule for his squad, though they will have an extra day's rest over City, who battered Norwich 5-0 in the Carabao Cup on Thursday.
"It is a tough week but it is exactly what we want to do," the Frenchman said.
Maresca on Doku's return, team 'improving' and Sunderlandpublished at 13:34 BST 18 September
13:34 BST 18 September
Nat Hayward BBC Sport journalist
Media caption,
Manchester City boss Enzo Maresca has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Premier League game against Sunderland at Etihad Stadium (14:00 BST).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
Maresca said Jeremy Doku, who has been absent with a calf injury since the Community Shield, can "probably be available for the Sunderland game".
He was asked about the benefits of heavily rotating his starting XI for Thursday's Carabao Cup win over Norwich: "It was very important. We gave rest to the ones that played back-to-back 90 minutes against Porto and Manchester United. It was important for them to give them rest and hopefully they can be full of energy for Sunday's game as it will be a strong game."
Asked why he has started so well as City boss, Maresca said: First of all, the players. The main thing when you join a new club is you can see that the players understand what the manager wants. I can see day by day, game by game, even with many changes, it's very clear for them what we want."
On whether being at the club before has helped him: "People inside the building, for sure, [but] the players are a completely different squad - there are three or four players from my last season here. I spend my days with the players so it's something new. I'm happy because I can see that we're improving."
On the pressure of succeeding Pep Guardiola: "When I decided to join the club, I was quite sure that the club is a good club and the players are good players. At the same time, I knew that the club was in a moment of change after 10 years with the same manager and Rodri, Bernardo Silva, John Stones and Nathan Ake [also leaving]. It's normal that there is a change, but at the same time, I'm quite confident that we can do a good job."
On Sunday's opponents Sunderland: "I watched the game live against Arsenal and then I watched it again in the past few days. You can see how strong they are. I think they didn't deserve to lose that game. They are very strong, very well coached by their manager and they have already had time together, so you can see what they want to do on and off the ball. My feeling, after watching them, is that Sunday will be the toughest game since the start of the season."
On the upcoming extended international break: "During the international break, I always used to review all the previous games and analyse what we can do better - these kind of things. But because we have three weeks, I have time enough to watch back all the games."
Harry: Samba showed far more than I would have ever expected him to. I think his experience as a midfielder showed in spades, he could handle the physicality and exhibited brilliant hold-up play. Well done to the lad - proper Manchester City debut to be proud of.
Terence: Samba had a good debut, very lively and two well-taken goals. Should get more minutes in the first team after that performance.
Wayne: What a ray of light Samba was and a proud moment for a very talented footballing family.
'Hopefully we can give him more chances' - Maresca impressed by Sambapublished at 12:06 BST 18 September
12:06 BST 18 September
Shamoon Hafez Manchester City reporter
Image source, Getty Images
Floyd Samba's scintillating first-team debut stole the show at Etihad Stadium on Thursday.
The youngster joined Manchester City's academy at under-nine level and he really started to make a name for himself last term.
Samba scored 24 goals and provided 10 assists in an eye-catching first full season with the under-18s, including curling home a stunning free-kick to help City win the FA Youth Cup final against rivals Manchester United in May.
On his debut against Norwich, Samba played the entire 90 minutes and fully grasped his opportunity.
With City struggling for openings, Samba broke the deadlock by flicking home a header - he celebrated by blowing a kiss in the direction of family and friends in the stands, before curling in a delightful second later in the game.
Samba was afforded a generous ovation towards the end of the game when being deservedly named man of the match.
"[I'm] satisfied not just for the goals but for the performance too," said manager Enzo Maresca.
"When I decided to play him as nine, he said he never played there. He is not a nine for sure, but he was good.
"He is young, full of energy, strong, can finish, can set [players up]. He made some good decisions in the first half. I am happy but they are young and we have to go slowly, slowly.
Fleet-footed Samba a contrast to fatherpublished at 10:26 BST 18 September
10:26 BST 18 September
Shamoon Hafez Football reporter
The Samba surname will be familiar to those of a certain age who have followed the Premier League.
Floyd is the son of former Blackburn and QPR defender Christopher, who played 171 top-flight matches for those two sides, as well as a further 12 in the Championship with Aston Villa.
The City forward is the younger of two brothers at the club, with Tyrone also involved in the youth team, and will now be aiming to play more first-team minutes after an exciting debut.
As a fleet-footed forward, Floyd could not be more of a different player to his dad Christopher, who was a no-nonsense towering centre-back.
"Coming from under-21s to first-team training, that is a big jump," added Samba. "The sessions are more tiring, you have to run more - they demand more of you and you have to cope with it."
Former Norwich striker Chris Sutton added on BBC Radio 5 Live: "Absolutely brilliant moment for Floyd. His dad was in the stadium and will be extremely proud. It's the journey, he has been nurtured at Man City, got his moment and what a night for him.
"He has given Enzo Maresca a bit of food for thought moving forward. Of course, he is not going to play ahead of Erling Haaland but it is a great evening for him and good for his development.
"Maresca can think he can trust him a little bit more."
Midfielders: Elliot Anderson (Manchester City), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Myles Lewis-Skelly (Arsenal), Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Alex Scott (Bournemouth).
Forwards: Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Leeds United), Eberechi Eze (Arsenal), Anthony Gordon (Barcelona), Rio Ngumoha (Liverpool), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Morgan Rogers (Chelsea), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal).
Gossip: Fresh enquiries made for young City target published at 08:15 BST 18 September
08:15 BST 18 September
Real Madrid and Barcelona have made fresh enquiries about American teenager Cavan Sullivan, 16, who is set to move to Manchester City from Philadelphia Union when he turns 18. (Teamtalk, external)
'It was too easy for City' - Suttonpublished at 22:24 BST 17 September
22:24 BST 17 September
Image source, Getty Images
Former Norwich striker Chris Sutton speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live following the 5-0 victory over Norwich: "It was too easy for Manchester City. They barely broke a sweat this evening, it was just a different class to Norwich City and Clement made a lot of changes as he's looking ahead to their game on Sunday.
"Well done to the Norwich support, travelling all that way but not a lot to cheer about. Man City cruise into the next round.
"Just seeing the Norwich City staff and players go over and applaud the magnificent away support, I'm not a body language expert but it's like they rocked up, made a lot of changes, and just expected to be beaten.
"A brilliant moment for Samba. Football is a ruthless game and it's about taking your opportunities when they come along and for these young players they don't come along too often. It's good to see Cherki, O'Reilly give him that assurance, as they should.
"He's arrived, he's still going to have to play the waiting game, and be patient when you play for a club like Manchester City. The demands are on winning. The fans demand trophies. His chances may be few and far between but he's done himself no harm."
Man City 5-0 Norwich: What Samba saidpublished at 22:12 BST 17 September
22:12 BST 17 September
Media caption,
Manchester City's Floyd Samba speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live: "Right before the game yesterday, the day before - I knew there would be an opportunity to get some minutes for the first time with the first team - to get a debut like that is mind blowing. I couldn't believe it myself - but that's just the beginning, I've got a big career ahead of me. It was a great debut.
"I couldn't be happier right now, being my first senior debut, you have to expect everything to go well, the intensity, the level of players, everything goes up and you have to be able to match it and cope with it, and I think I did well with that.
"Coming from the 21's to first-team training, that's a big jump - the sessions are more tiring, you have to run more - they demand more of you and you have to cope with it.
"I spoke to all of them [the first team players], they've all been brilliant with me - before the game, giving me advice - play your game, be you - those words gave me confidence and helped me score those two goals today.
"I can't wait - recover now, rest, the team goes again - training tomorrow and then Sunderland on the weekend - everyone has to be prepared for that."
Analysis: Samba helps hosts saunter throughpublished at 21:33 BST 17 September
21:33 BST 17 September
Shamoon Hafez Football reporter
Image source, Getty Images
Manchester City, second in the Premier League, at home against a Norwich side 14th in the Championship never seemed like producing a shock result.
The Canaries players and supporters made the long trip over from Norfolk and return home extending their thoroughly miserable recent record against their opponents.
Norwich were heavy underdogs and it proved to be the case, having now lost their past three contests against Manchester City by an aggregate of 19-0, suffering defeat in all five League Cup meetings between the sides.
But it was a satisfying evening for boss Maresca, who made 10 changes to the side that won at rivals Manchester United on Sunday - the sole survivor from that starting XI, Cherki, scoring in the first half.
But the night belonged to academy product Floyd Samba, graduating from City's academy into the senior set-up to score a double on his first senior start - the first an instinctive header but the second a beauty of a finish caressed into the far corner.
Maresca's side faced questions when they began the campaign with a heavy defeat by Arsenal in the Community Shield, but they have since recovered by winning six games in a row in all competitions.
They will be aiming to pick up maximum points against Sunderland on Sunday to continue a highly impressive start to Maresca's tenure, before the three-week international break.
"We didn't think it would be so soon because he was so young and he had only been playing in France for a really short time.
"We have been really, really happy with him. He is still developing and still learning, but I know for sure he will be one of the best centre-backs in the world in the next five or six years."
Khusanov signed a new five-year contract at Etihad Stadium in July, describing the occasion as "a great day for me and my family".
When asked whether there was an opportunity to convince Rodri to stay this summer, Viana replied: "Of course we would have liked to keep him. We were having good and positive conversations with him and his agent.
"But after the World Cup, we had a really honest conversation again and he wanted to move back to his country - and we understood that.
"We should be proud of how we treat our players that have given so much to this club."
'It will be a tricky game' - Maresca on Norwich testpublished at 11:10 BST 17 September
11:10 BST 17 September
Image source, Getty Images
Manchester City boss Enzo Maresca says he expects a "tricky game" against Championship side Norwich City in the Carabao Cup on Thursday evening, and has hinted at rotating his starting XI.
"We prepare all the games trying to win and trying to compete to win the competition," he said. "Then, at the end, we see if we are able to win or not.
"For sure, the game will be a tricky game because the one-off games are the difficult ones. We are going to try to win the game and then we will see."
Maresca confirmed he will hand goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli his first competitive appearance for the club since signing from Marseille in the summer.
"I was doing the same also in Chelsea and Leicester. We are going to give Rulli minutes."
He also hinted that Erling Haaland may be one of his first-team players given a rest after a gruelling week which involved wins in the Champions League at Porto and at Manchester United in the Premier League.
"Erling is one of the players that played 90 minutes back-to-back against Porto and Manchester United. He is not the only one," added Maresca.
"I think we have six or seven players who have played 90, 90. Some of them, not all of them, will probably need some rest."
Maresca on Doku, VAR controversy and awaiting apologypublished at 12:42 BST 16 September
12:42 BST 16 September
Noreen Mustapha BBC Sport
Media caption,
Manchester City boss Enzo Maresca has been speaking to the media before Thursday's Carabao Cup third round game against Norwich City at Etihad Stadium (kick-off 19:30 BST).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
Maresca confirmed winger Jeremy Doku "is quite close" to a return from injury, which they "are happy" about.
On Erling Haaland's controversial goal against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday: "To talk about one moment after that game when we played for 70, 75 minutes with 10 players is quite poor. I think the performance was unbelievable and I'm pleased.
He said they are "still waiting for the apology" for a goal United scored against City in 2023 when Marcus Rashford was adjudged to have not been interfering with play: "Sometimes it goes for you, sometimes against you. Three years ago when I was here happened the exact same against Manchester United. The goal was not a regular goal and no one apologised. We are still waiting for the apology for that."
On Phil Foden's red card in the derby: "At half-time he was upset and sad because he knew it was something wrong. After the game he was a bit more relieved and happy. Yesterday he was very good. He knows that the reaction was probably not a good one but it is finished and we move on."
On the resulting suspension, he added: "It's a big one [blow]. He was doing well with us. He started quite well [before his red card]. Now he is out tomorrow [against Norwich] and for Sunderland and Liverpool. Then he is back again." Maresca is also not sure if they will appeal Foden's red card.
On possible changes to his line-up: "The ones that are going to play, I'm sure that they are going to play important games, in the Premier League or Champions League. Now it's early season with no injuries or suspended players. In November, December, January and February, with the amount of games, we will need rest. The players that are going to play tomorrow, it's an opportunity for them to get better and better. At some point we need them."
On the importance of the League Cup to them: "One more competition. We need to compete in all of the competitions. We will try our best and we will see where we finish."
After saying in the past he prefers to play Premier League teams in the cup competitions, he was asked if he still thinks this way: "Absolutely. They are all tricky games, different games. We need to do our job in the right way and I have no doubt it will be a tricky game for many reasons."
Gossip: Barcelona eye Haalandpublished at 07:03 BST 16 September
07:03 BST 16 September
Barcelona are looking at Manchester City's Erling Haaland and Bayern Munich's Harry Kane as alternatives to 26-year-old Atletico Madrid forward Julian Alvarez. (Talksport, external)
'VAR gets super-focused on Haaland' - Webb on missed Fernandez offsidepublished at 18:49 BST 15 September
18:49 BST 15 September
Dale Johnson Football issues correspondent
Image source, Getty Images
Referees' chief Howard Webb has admitted that the video assistant referee (VAR) did not even consider whether Enzo Fernandez was offside for Erling Haaland's controversial winner in Sunday's Manchester derby.
Speaking on the first edition of 'Match Officials Mic'd Up' of the season, Webb said he was "really disappointed" with the error made by the VAR Matt Donohue and his assistant Blake Antrobus.
Manchester City striker Haaland thought he had scored the only goal of the game at Old Trafford in the 60th minute, but it was disallowed on the field for offside.
A VAR review found Haaland was just onside, and the goal was awarded.
But it immediately became apparent that the video officials had made an error in failing to identify an offside offence by Fernandez, diving at the ball in a central position and interfering with opponents.
"I was really disappointed with this outcome. We all are," said Webb, Premier League refereeing body Pro Ref's chief refereeing officer.
"None more so than the officials themselves. They take a lot of personal pride in what they do and they're obviously hurting now, having fallen short in this situation.
"They'll not be officiating again until after the international break."
One of the questions which many supporters have asked is how the VAR team could possibly reach the conclusion that Fernandez did not commit an offside offence.
The VAR gets super-focused on Haaland," said Webb, who had already been in contact with Manchester United to share the VAR audio and video.
"He establishes he's onside, he thinks that's a good goal.
"He doesn't truly evaluate the full impact of Fernandez's position. He has a look to see if he touches the ball, because then that relates to potentially knocking it to Haaland, who goes on to score.
