When Manchester City takes on Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux on Saturday, they’ll be looking to recover from their first loss of the year.

Alexander Isak scored the game’s lone goal as Newcastle United defeated Pep Guardiola’s team 1-0 on Wednesday night, eliminating them from the Carabao Cup. The Blues’ stellar run of play came to an end with the defeat, but they are still unbeaten in the Premier League.

Guardiola is anticipated to play at full strength in an attempt to maintain that flawless start, having made a few adjustments for the midweek trip to St. James’ Park. Erling Haaland will therefore most likely take the lead again after getting enough rest in the middle of the week.

The Norwegian, who returns to the field where he scored in a 3-0 victory last season, has eight goals in nine matches despite an unusually inefficient spell in front of goal. Due to his involvement, Julian Alvarez might be relegated to the supporting role behind the striker, where he has performed exceptionally well this season.

During Friday’s press conference, Guardiola was questioned about competition out wide. Now that Jack Grealish has played the entire 90 minutes in midweek after starting the game off the bench against Nottingham Forest, the City manager has made a decision in that part of the field. With his injury return coming so soon, the former Aston Villa player might get a rest for the visit to his former Midlands rivals.

Given the doubts surrounding Bernardo Silva’s fitness, Jeremy Doku and Phil Foden would be able to take the wide spots. Following his opening goal against Forest the previous weekend, Foden talked about his growing friendship with Kyle Walker. If Doku stays on the left, the two might be reunited on the right.

On Saturday, Rodri, who grabbed Morgan Gibbs-White by the throat the previous weekend, will serve the second of his three-game suspension. For the first time since the season’s last league game, Kalvin Phillips played 90 minutes in a City uniform. He appears destined to maintain his position at the center of midfield, partnering with the healthy Mateo Kovacic.

Walker and Ruben Dias, two of Guardiola’s dependable regulars at the defense, will be back in the starting lineup. Rico Lewis will probably withdraw, and since both players played 90 minutes on Wednesday, Josko Gvardiol or Manuel Akanji will likely have a rest.

Anticipate a straightforward positional switch, with Akanji, a right-sided center back, leaving. Behind them, Ederson will be back at Molineux, but Stefan Ortega kept his spot as City’s cup goalie.