'Whatever Changes Man City Make, It’ll Be A Strong Team'

Opinion
17 Dec 2018
2 Minutes
Stuart Brennan, the Chief Manchester City correspondent of Manchester Evening News, says Pep Guardiola is likely name a youthful starting XI for their trip to King Power Stadium on Tuesday night (7:45pm GMT kick-off).

- LCFC Radio's Opposition View comes from Manchester Evening News journalist Stuart Brennan
- Brennan believes that Manchester City will make changes to their line-up for Tuesday's visit to King Power Stadium
- Leicester City host the Premier League champions in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup
- Pre-Match Pint begins at 5:45pm GMT on Tuesday evening, followed by Matchday Live an hour later

Leicester City welcome the 2018 Premier League and Carabao Cup holders to Filbert Way for a quarter-finals tie on Tuesday evening (7:45pm GMT kick-off).

While Manchester City still have eyes on their top flight title defence and UEFA Champions League knockout campaign, Brennan believes that Guardiola is determined to add another Carabao Cup success to his glittering CV this season.

“Obviously there have been changes in the cup, but the game last season was close and decided by penalties so I think they’ll be expecting another close game,” he told LCFC Radio's Matchday Live programme.

“City will probably be a little stronger this time around, they’ve got players coming back from injuries, but it shouldn’t have a great effect on the game.

“You know you’re going to get a scrap when you go to Leicester, that’s something Man City have found out at their cost in recent years. I don’t see this game being any different."

The visitors could call upon the services of Kevin de Bruyne and Sergio Agüero for the clash, but there still may be room for the likes of Phil Foden and Oleksandr Zinchenko too.

“City will probably play a few of their stars and it depends if they come through training okay, but De Bruyne is itching to come back,” Brennan added.

“He came on as a sub at the weekend (a 3-1 win over Everton) and he’ll be desperate to get back out there.

"The only thing which may hold him back is the fact that in his last comeback, in the last round, he ended up playing and then getting injured, so they may be a little bit wary.

Guardiola has a 74 per cent win rate at Etihad Stadium.

"Agüero has a groin problem, too, so they have to decide whether to put him on the bench or whether to play him from the start.

"They want to get him back into action as soon as possible and we may see Danilo come back as well, if he is fit enough to appear from the start.

"Foden and Zinchenko could also start but Guardiola has a lot of senior players to pick from and they’re quite a youthful team anyway – with the likes of Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sané keeping that average age down.

"City generally are a mix of youth and experience so it’ll be no different. Pep, I’m sure, will have his eye on winning a trophy so, however many changes they make, it’ll still be a strong team."