Manchester City Guardiola To Use Academy Players For Bournemouth In Carabao Cup

Pep Guardiola has confirmed that he will turn to the club academy player in their Carabao Cup game against Bournemouth on Thursday.

Manchester will begin their quest for a fourth consecutive Carabao Cup defense just three days after their Premier League opening game.

The Cityzens defeated Wolves 3-1 at the Molineux Stadium on Monday night to kick off the new season on winning ways.

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Manchester City are without seven of their first team players due to injury and illness and Guardiola believe his first team players needs rest.

Guardiola confirmed that he will want to rest his senior stars for the Sunday Premier League game against Leicester City.

Asked when his squad will reach peak fitness this season, he said: “I don’t know. All we want is the seven players who are out to come back.

“Against Bournemouth we will play mostly players in the academy and try to keep energy for the Premier League.

“With the lack of preparation and seven players out, we have to keep the players who played today as fresh as possible.

“We will see how the players recover. We won the Carabao Cup three times and we want to win again but we will have to see.

“It is what it is. We have to adapt. 

“Winning away in this stadium is so difficult. That’s why it’s a good victory for us.

“We cannot pretend we can recover in three days. That’s the situation we have.”

Africa Top Sports learnt from www.mancity.com that Bernardo Silva and Oleksandr Zinchenko missed the win at Wolves with muscle problems, with full-back Joao Cancelo absent due to a foot injury.

Also Eric Garcia missed out having had stitches in a head wound.

However, Guardiola suggested Garcia could be back in the fold soon, but says the other three are likely to have to wait until after the next international break before playing any part. 

“Most of them, the Leeds game and international break, after that will be ready,” he said.

“Eric Garcia had 16 stitches that’s why he can’t be here.

“The rest after the international break [could return].

“This is the situation today but maybe in the next few days it will change a little bit.”


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