Manchester City face Liverpool in a big Carabao Cup clash tonight, with Erling Haaland and Riyad Mahrez fit to start for the hosts.
Despite the fact that the pair both missed the World Cup, neither of them are currently fully fit. A clean bill of health for the return of domestic action puts eight-time winners Man City in good shape to qualify for the quarter-finals and knock out the holders in the process.
World Cup stars continue to drift back to the City squad but Julian Alvarez will miss the fourth-round tie having featured for Argentina in Sunday’s final. Pep Guardiola has confirmed a week off for the striker.
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Those that played in the knockouts, such as Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva, Jack Grealish, Kyle Walker, John Stones and Joao Cancelo, are all on the bench for City. On Saturday, Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan both started a 2-0 friendly win over Girona.
That lineup featured Haaland and Mahrez plus a number of youngsters. Guardiola once again turns to the likes of youngsters Cole Palmer and Rico Lewis tonight.
Guardiola made clear his frustration with the fixture calendar after the friendly, saying: “We just don’t have players because the big brains of football decided this schedule and we are going to play this game [against Liverpool].
“Some players are coming back now and in the next few days and step by step, they will re-join their team-mates here.”
Man City XI: Ortega, Lewis, Akanji, Laporte, Ake, Rodrigo, De Bruyne, Gundogan, Mahrez, Haaland, Palmer
Subs: Carson, Walker, Stones, Cancelo, Grealish, Gomez, Bernardo, Foden, Robertson
