Manchester City gaffer Pep Guardiola gives Brazil star Gabriel Jesus first EPL start this year

Brazil star Gabriel Jesus will start his first Premier League match this year for runaway leaders Manchester City at Stoke on Monday.
Manchester City's Gabriel Jesus, right, and Stoke's Bruno Martins Indi battle for the ball during the English Premier League soccer match between Stoke City and Manchester City at the Bet 365 Stadium in Stoke on Trent, England, Monday, March 12, 2018.  |
Manchester City's Gabriel Jesus, right, and Stoke's Bruno Martins Indi battle for the ball during the English Premier League soccer match between Stoke City and Manchester City at the Bet 365 Stadium in Stoke on Trent, England, Monday, March 12, 2018. |

MANCHESTER: Brazil star Gabriel Jesus will start his first Premier League match this year for runaway leaders Manchester City at Stoke on Monday.

The 20-year-old -- who returned to the City line-up for last week's Champions League match with Basel after being out with a knee ligament injury -- gets the nod from Pep Guardiola because of a knee injury to City's record goalscorer Argentinian Sergio Aguero.

Aguero is expected to be out for a fortnight.

Guardiola also recalled Raheem Sterling to the starting XI, the England international having missed almost a month because of injury.  

City, who need four more wins to wrap up the Premier League title, also start with Jesus's compatriot midfielder Fernandinho and injury-prone Belgian central defender Vincent Kompany.

Stoke, who will move out of the bottom three with a win, have drawn their last three games but won just one of their last 10 league fixtures.

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The New Indian Express
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