Manchester City will be without a number of key players for Thursday night’s Carabao Cup clash against AFC Bournemouth.
The Citizens will shift their focus to the Cup after a strong start in the Premier League. With goals from Kevin de Bruyne, Phil Foden and Gabriel Jesus, they were able to overcome a Wolverhampton Wanderers side that gave them problems last year, 3-1, on Monday night. On Thursday, they will welcome the Cherries to the Etihad, but Pep Guardiola will have a lot to concerns with respect to squad availability.
Four players are certainly out for Thursday’s game which will force the manager to rotate his squad. Sergio Aguero, Joao Cancelo and Oleksandr Zinchenko will all be missing with injuries. The fourth absentee will be Ilkay Gundogan, who tested positive for the Coronavirus.
On a happier note, there are a couple of players who could be fit in time. Aymeric Laporte could be back after being cleared of the Coronavirus. Eric Garcia, who suffered a head injury, last week is likely to play on Thursday.
With a Premier League match against Leicester City coming up on Sunday, Guardiola will be looking to make a lot of changes. This will keep the more senior players ready for the challenge that the Foxes will bring to the Etihad. (Go here for the starting XI prediction)
It also presents an opportunity for younger players in the squad to show off their skills. The Carabao Cup is a competition that the Sky Blues seem to love, having won it three years in a row now. They will want to keep that streak rolling.
One man who is very likely to get a start is new singing Ferran Torres. The former Valencia winger came on as a sub on Monday. He could have a much larger role to play and will be keen to prove his worth as soon as he can.
Injuries or not, City will follow the Pep Guardiola philosophy to the letter and it all promises to be an entertaining clash. It will not be a walk in the park for the Mancunians, but they will be confident of getting the win.