On Wednesday, Manchester City will face Southampton in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals.
If Manchester City defeats Southampton on Wednesday, they will be one step closer to recovering the Carabao Cup.
City lost their title last season, but have already defeated Chelsea and Liverpool in this year’s competition. The struggling Saints are up next, currently sitting bottom of the Premier League but picking up their first win under new manager Nathan Jones in the FA Cup over the weekend.
The Blues have a fast turnaround from the journey south to the major Manchester derby, which begins off at 12:30pm on Saturday, so Pep Guardiola’s team selection may take that into account. Kalvin Phillips might make his first start for the club, while Jack Grealish remains a doubt after missing the win against Chelsea on Friday. Ruben Dias is still out.
Bajkowski, Simon
Kalvin Phillips deserves to make his first City start, and this is not a game Guardiola will let get away.
Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland did not play at the weekend, and they should start versus Southampton and then come off; with Julian Alvarez and Bernardo Silva on the bench, they shouldn’t have to overwork themselves.
Riyad Mahrez started against Chelsea, therefore Jack Grealish is set to make his debut, and Phil Foden deserves to improve on his excellent performance.
Rico Lewis has featured in the early stages of the Carabao Cup and can ensure Kyle Walker is completely healthy for the derby this Saturday. The center-back pairings will be determined by who Guardiola wants at the weekend, but I’d go with Akanji and Laporte for this one, with the goal of pairing Stones with Ake at the weekend.
Daniel Murphy
Kalvin Phillips hasn’t even got a full 90 minutes on the clock at City yet so he needs to more than double his total playing time for the club on the south coast and finally show what he can offer. I’d bring Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan back into the middle as well to keep the midfield fresh.
Joao Cancelo is also in need of a start and a good display after his struggles following the World Cup and it’d be great to see Rico Lewis get more time to impress. I’d continue to save Erling Haaland for the derby, with the option to bring him on there if things go awry, and give Julian Alvarez another chance from the off alongside Phil Foden and the in-form Riyad Mahrez.
Jack Flintham
City’s team to face Southampton is difficult to predict after Guardiola kept his cards close to his chest in Tuesday afternoon’s press conference. John Stones and Nathan Ake could need more minutes ahead of the Manchester derby this weekend so it is possible we will see them return at the heart of the defence.
Joao Cancelo is currently out of favour and his booking against Chelsea will not have done him any favours as he attempts to get back into Guardiola’s good books. Phillips surely needs to start with Rodri in desperate need of a rest and you would assume that De Bruyne and Gundogan will be ahead of him.
Haaland appears to have rested over the weekend in preparation for the quarter-final, thus his starting spot appears to be guaranteed. Mahrez is in peak shape and appears unstoppable at this point.
Alvarez and Grealish will compete for the final slot in the front three, and I believe the Argentine will make the starting XI. Southampton is an excellent opponent to put a line-up with both the Norwegian and Argentine talismans to the test.
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