After a tough 1-0 win against Southampton on Saturday, Manchester City have a few days to prepare before they go toe-to-toe with Tottenham Hotspur in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.
Pep Guardiola claimed Manchester City ran a lot against Southampton — admitting that they do not like that ever being the case during a game as the visitors kept the ball from long stretches at the Etihad Stadium.
Manchester City have not won the Carabao Cup since 2021 — a trophy they once made their own after winning it four times in a row.
If City manage to defeat Tottenham, they will also end up eliminating one of the main contenders to win the competition.
Pep Guardiola’s men would also gain a massive confidence boost by beating one of the best teams in England, which could help to spur them on in their quest for the Premier League and Champions League trophies this season.
In their last two visits to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, City have won both games — scoring three and conceding no goals.
Pep Guardiola says he could pick weakened Man City team vs Tottenham
As a result, Manchester City seem not to seem cursed at Spurs’ home stadium anymore as they did previously.
But managers often tend not to play full-strength teams in such competitions.
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has admitted that he could play some academy players against Tottenham.
Guardiola via BeanymanSports: “We are going to do what we have to do, I don’t know even, and I’m going to think against Spurs, maybe some players from the academy, I don’t know. We will see tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, unfortunately we have four days and not three and of course, we are going to go there to compete but the main target is Bournemouth and Sporting de Lisboa and Brighton before the international break, that is the main [target].”
“We are not going to take a decision, if the players are fine, they are going to play against Spurs but if they have doubts, I’m not going to take a risk against Spurs, that’s for sure.”
It seems likely that Tottenham will try to field as strong a side as possible to give themselves the best chance to come out on top as they will be aiming to win the trophy.
Manchester City, on the other hand have bigger priorities aside from the Carabao Cup according to Pep Guardiola.
Since Pep Guardiola vowed Manchester City will win the FA Cup as they were celebrating their league title triumph during the parade in Manchester, perhaps he would rather prioritise that cup competion over the League Cup.
Guardiola ruled Manchester City’s injured stars out against Tottenham such as Jack Grealish, Jeremy Doku, Kevin De Bruyne and Kyle Walker.
Which Man City academy players could start vs Tottenham?
Manchester City’s youngsters will be hoping to start against a top side like Spurs.
The contest will likely be viewed by millions of fans around the world.
Furthermore, it will boost the young players’ chances to become starters at the Etihad Stadium. Here are the Manchester City academy players who have been handed minutes this season.
| PLAYER | MINUTES THIS SEASON |
| JAMES MCATEE | 271 |
| KADEN BRAITHWAITE | 76 |
| NICO O’REILLY | 73 |
| JACOB WRIGHT | 17 |
When Pep Guardiola mentioned academy players could get minutes, James McAtee, Kaden Braithwaite, Nico O’Reilly and Jacob Wright would have been excited.
McAtee seems the likeliest to play as he no longer plays for City’s academy anymore unlike O’Reilly, Braithwaite and Wright.
With the number of gems Manchester City have amongst their youth ranks, if given a chance, the birth of a future star could be witnessed against Tottenham.
Whether Pep Guardiola genuinely plays a weakened team will be interesting to see.
