Up next for Manchester City is a trip to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to take on Tottenham in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup. Following on from their 1-nil win over Southampton the world champions will take a depleted squad to London. That’s the unfortunate status of the City squad currently. But you do get the sense that for the greater good, a host of City stars should be rested from the upcoming clash with Tottenham.
Firstly, City will take on Spurs without six players. Rodri, Oscar Bobb, Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish, Jeremy Doku and Kyle Walker are all likely out of the tie against Tottenham. Even if Kevin De Bruyne is ready to return this week it is doubtful that Pep Guardiola will risk the Belgian international. But there does appear to be a host of Manchester City stars who could do with a rest this week.
Erling Haaland appears to be one. City’s number 9 did appear to be labouring during the latter stages of his team’s win over Southampton. If the opportunity to rest Erling Haaland is presented you do get the impression that Pep Guardiola will take it. Bernardo Silva looks to be another player who could also benefit from a game off. In my opinion, Bernardo has become City’s most important player in light of the injuries the champions are dealing with. The opportunities to rest Bernardo are few and far between but the upcoming game against Spurs may be one. The same can be said for Josko Gvardiol, Ruben Dias and others. But there is also a tipping point of how many players are too many to rest. That is the juggling act that awaits Pep Guardiola this week.
Pep Guardiola will take no risks with any of his stars against Tottenham.
Speaking after his team’s win over Southampton Pep Guardiola told the media that he won’t take any risks with his star players. The City manager also said he would assess the condition of his squad before making his team selection for the fourth-round Carabao Cup tie against Tottenham. Guardiola said: “We talked about that, we have to take care of ourselves; go to sleep, drinks, good food, sleep a lot, training, recovery. I would love to have everyone, it’s not the position we’re in, we are few people and we’re going to do what we have to do. I’m going to think about Spurs, maybe some players from the Academy. We will see tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, we have four days, not three.”
Guardiola added that Manchester City’s priority is their upcoming away fixtures against Bournemouth, Sporting and Brighton rather than the Carabao Cup fixture. He added: “Of course we will go there to compete but the main target is Bournemouth, Sporting and Brighton before the international break, this is the focus. We will take a decision and if the players are fine we will play them against Spurs but if there are any doubts I’m not going to take a risk against Spurs, that’s for sure.”
For the greater good, you do feel that Manchester City shouldn’t take any risks with any key players against Tottenham. Based on Pep Guardiola’s comments the world champions will not risk anyone at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. There are bigger fixtures on the horizon where City will need all hands on deck. So the upcoming game against Spurs may be low on City’s priority list but they will be determined to get a victory no matter what team Pep Guardiola selects. The world champions always play to win, no matter what lineup they have on the pitch.
