Pep Guardiola insisted there was "no special reason" why Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland were on the bench for a second successive game.
Having left them as unused substitutes in the FA Cup win over Chelsea at the weekend, the Manchester City manager suggested before the game that their rhythm for Saturday's derby would not be upset if they went nine days without a match. That theory is now set to be tested after Guardiola named both on the bench for Wednesday's Carabao Cup test against Southampton.
City's coach pointed to the good mood and form of Julian Alvarez to lead the line ahead of Haaland and also indicated his subs could be used in the second half as he reminded everyone that the decisions were not out of character with his career.
