Confirmed Sunderland v Man City line-ups: Januzaj starts, De Bruyne benched

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Sunderland host Manchester City in the Premier League this afternoon…

Sunderland head into the game having lost 2-0 at Everton last weekend, and their position is perilous right now, as they lie bottom of the table and six points adrift of safety.

It’s just one win in nine games for David Moyes, with six defeats in that run pushing the club closer and closer to relegation.

Today, Moyes has gone with a back four of Billy Jones, Lamine Kones, John O’Shea and Bryan Oviedo ahead of goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, whilst Didier Ndong, Seb Larsson and Darron Gibson feature in midfield.

Top goalscorer Jermain Defoe leads the line, with Adnan Januzaj and Fabio Borini supporting him in the Sunderland attack.

Former Manchester City midfielder Jack Rodwell is on the bench, alongside George Honeyman, Donald Love, Wahbi Khazri, Papy Djilobodji and Javier Manquillo, as well as backup goalkeeper Vito Mannone.

Meanwhile, Manchester City have been in great form of late, winning each of their last three Premier League games under Pep Guardiola.

Whilst a title bid is off the table now, City will be pushing to secure their top four place, and Guardiola has gone with a strong side at the Stadium of Light this afternoon.

Willy Caballero keeps his place in goal ahead of Claudio Bravo, with a back four of Bacary Sagna, Aleksandar Kolarov, John Stones and Gael Clichy in front of him.

Fernandinho and Yaya Toure start in holding midfield, with Leroy Sane, David Silva and Raheem Sterling supporting lone striker Sergio Aguero.

That means that playmaker Kevin De Bruyne is surprisingly left out of the side and named only on the bench, alongside the aforementioned Bravo, and Fabian Delph, Fernando, Nicolas Otamendi, Nolito and Kelechi Iheanacho.