City Xtra

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has issued an update on the fitness of Savinho, after the Brazilian left the pitch against Tottenham in tears after an ankle injury.

The Brazil international became the eighth Manchester City player to seemingly be restricted to the sidelines through an injury in what is becoming an increasingly precarious position for Pep Guardiola and his coaching staff.

The injury to Savinho only added to City’s woes on Wednesday evening as their unbeaten run in the ongoing season came to an end by crashing out of the Carabao Cup at the fourth round stage via Tottenham and goals from Timo Werner and Pape Sarr.

While City are unlikely to be too affected by the exit from the competition, with their priorities lying in the Premier League and Champions League in particular, the state of play in their first-team squad in terms of available players may have huge ramifications on their season.

In the wide positions, Savinho’s exit via the aid of a stretcher at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium leaves Pep Guardiola with no natural wingers at his disposal, barring a positive outcome on medical testing on the winger’s ankle injury in the coming hours and days.

Speaking after defeat in the Carabao Cup, Pep Guardiola issued a small update on the Brazilian after the contest prior to the club returning to the City Football Academy in the early hours of Thursday morning.

“He had a knock in the 18-yard box, a potential penalty, and we’ll see tomorrow what happened, we will see tomorrow,” Guardiola said.

“We have to see if it just a knock or something else, it was on the bone. Hopefully it’s nothing dangerous, but we’ll see tomorrow.”

Manchester City’s post-Tottenham recovery session and training ground duties were also confirmed to be heavily limited, as Guardiola went on to say, “We have two goalkeepers and Erling Haaland in the training session. The rest, we don’t have anything else.”

City will begin preparations for their weekend trip to Bournemouth on Saturday afternoon over the coming 48 hours, before two more away trips are on the agenda for Pep Guardiola’s side before the international break.

Next week will see Manchester City visit Lisbon for a clash against Ruben Amorim’s Sporting prior to his move to become Manchester United manager, before closing out the latest block of fixtures with a trip to Brighton & Hove Albion in the English top-flight.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has revealed why Manuel Akanji was replaced at the last moment before the club’s Carabao Cup meeting with Tottenham this week.

The Premier League champions’ unbeaten start to the new season was brought to an end on Wednesday night at the hands of Ange Postecoglou and his North London outfit with two first-half goals proving too much of a deficit for City to overturn.

Goals from Timo Werner and Pape Sarr was responded to by Matheus Nunes as the Portugal international continues his rich vein of form, but Manchester City were unable to add to their goals on a night when their concerns lay off the pitch.

Pep Guardiola came into the contest with six players ruled out through injury, and his worries were made even worse during the club’s visit to London with all of Savinho, Josko Gvardiol, and Manuel Akanji sustaining issues.

Speaking to reporters in his post-match press conference in North London, Guardiola confirmed that Akanji was withdrawn from the starting line-up after ‘feeling something’ muscular during the warm-ups at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

“Akanji yesterday, I didn’t know it, in the last action felt something in the muscular part of his body and today in the warm-up he didn’t feel good,” Guardiola revealed. “He said, ‘No I can take a risk’, and I said, ‘No, no risk!'”

Continuing further, the Manchester City manager also revealed another minor injury concern within his defence as he said, “Ruben (Dias) is struggling sometimes as well in some moments.”

Manchester City will likely be awaiting most nervously for the results of further assessment regarding Savinho’s injury on Wednesday night, after the Brazilian left the field in tears and via the aid of a stretcher.

It is believed that the winger had sustained a knock to his right ankle, while the delay to his injury having first sustained impact left some wondering whether the injury may be as serious as first presumed.

Pep Guardiola and his City side travel to the south coast this weekend as they return to Premier League action with a meeting against Andoni Iraola’s impressive Bournemouth squad at the Vitality Stadium.

Early goals from Timo Werner and Pape Sarr proved too much for Manchester City, who suffered a 2-1 defeat at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Wednesday night.

The defeat sees City fail to capture the Carabao Cup for the fourth season in a row, after previously winning it four times on the bounce during the start of Pep Guardiola’s tenure at the club.

Timo Werner’s goal came off a counter-attack just five minutes into the match, and Pape Sarr doubled Ange Postecoglou’s side’s lead 20 minutes later with an excellent individual goal from a set piece.

The early deficit proved to be too much for Pep Guardiola’s players to handle, although Matheus Nunes provided the lone goal for Manchester City late in the first-half, as the Sky Blues attempted to mount a comeback.

City had a few chances to grab the equaliser throughout the second half, but the best chance came from Academy graduate Nico O’Reilly in the closing moments of the contest, but his chance was denied by an excellent block from Yves Bissouma on the goal-line.

Manchester City will now travel back down to the south of England this weekend as they make the trip to the Vitality Stadium on Saturday afternoon to face Bournemouth in the return to Premier League action.

Before then, here are the Five Things We Learned from Manchester City’s cup defeat to Spurs!

The small squad might be failing

It’s no secret amongst Manchester City fans that Pep Guardiola prefers to have a smaller squad. The Catalan believes the more players in a dressing room, the more likely you are to have players upset due to a lack of minutes.

It’s a principle that has, for the most part, been incredibly successful. However, it allows the potential for an injury crisis to be devastating.

City went into the ongoing season without without a back-up for both Rodri and Erling Haaland. Just a few weeks after the transfer deadline, Rodri’s ACL took a blow, and Haaland looks thoroughly exhausted by the end of October.

It’s not just these two players though. City are also without Kevin De Bruyne, Oscar Bobb, Jack Grealish, Jeremy Doku, Savinho, and Kyle Walker, while Manuel Akanji was forced out moments before Wednesday’s match, and Josko Gvardiol was in need of treatment at full-time.

No amount of depth can fix all of those injuries, but trying to find a solution with such a small squad could prove to be too difficult of a task for Pep Guardiola.

Ilkay Gundogan still hasn’t woken up

When Ilkay Gundogan was signed (again), it seemed like a perfect solution to Manchester City’s lack of depth in midfield.

However, the honeymoon period is over and after two months there is little to show for it. The German midfielder was irreplaceable just two seasons ago, but he currently looks like a shell of himself.

There’s still piety of time left for the 34-year-old to return to form, but it’s taking a lot longer than any of us expected.

Matheus Nunes’ run continues

It’s hard to remember a bigger redemption story during the Pep Guardiola era than what Matheus Nunes is going through right now.

The Portuguese midfielder has continued to take advantage of every opportunity being given to him at the moment and has gone from backup to borderline starter at the moment.

With injuries ravishing the squad, Matheus Nunes will need to stay in this form for the next few weeks, at the very least.

The Carabao Cup is no longer Manchester City’s trophy

The early ages of the Pep Guardiola era saw Manchester City win the Carabao Cup with such ease and regularity that it was comical. After six wins in eight years, City will now have gone four years without a League Cup victory.

While it’s a disappointment for Manchester City to regularly be missing out on a trophy, there is a benefit in having less games played on the legs of a smaller squad.

The season is only just now about to start

While there is always doom and gloom after a Manchester City defeat, it’s important to highlight all of the good as well.

Despite the injuries and shortened squad, City are currently top of the table in the Premier League. After a relatively calm opening to the season that saw City play only a few difficult fixtures, November is where things start to ratchet up.

City will face Brighton, Spurs and Liverpool over the next month, and have eight fixtures ahead of them in December. Historically this is where City’s season is won, let’s see if Pep Guardiola and co. can do it again.

Manchester City suffered an early exit from the latest edition of the Carabao Cup after a 2-1 defeat at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Wednesday night.

A well-worked goal finished off by Matheus Nunes was not enough to overturn a 2-0 deficit as the eight-time winners of the League Cup bowed out in the fourth round, on a night when 18-year-old Jahmai Simpson-Pusey made his first-team debut in the second-half.

Pep Guardiola’s side got off to a poor start as Timo Werner scored the opener as the clock hit the fifth minute. The attack that started with Spurs’ goalkeeper was finished by the German, who had a similar chance 10 minutes after a loose pass from Ilkay Gundogan.

Things went from bad to worse for the Premier League champions with Tottenham doubling their lead through Pape Sarr. A short corner was played back to the midfielder, who curled the ball past Stefan Ortega Moreno and into the bottom corner.

Manchester City went on to dominate possession in the opening half-hour but failed to register a shot towards Vicario’s goal, proving how difficult it had been to break through the resolute Spurs defence.

The visitors’ first real chances came at the end of the half with a dangerous pass across the box from Matheus Nunes and a wild volley attempt from Phil Foden that should have troubled Vicario but sailed over the crossbar.

Minutes before the half-time whistle, City found a goal through the in-form Matheus Nunes. Savinho beat his man with ease on the right-hand side before picking out the Portuguese international in open space to hit the back of the net from the far post.

The two wide players were easily Manchester City’s best players in the first half and they always looked a threat whenever they picked up the ball.

Similar to the first half, Werner found himself through on goal but fortunately for the visitors, his effort went narrowly wide before Ortega Moreno had to pull off a strong save to deny Dejan Kulusevski shortly after.

City had a lot of the ball in the second half and created some half chances but nothing too threatening towards the Tottenham goalkeeper. Guardiola’s side had lacked a real cutting edge tonight, especially after Savinho was stretchered off midway through the second half.

Substitute Josko Gvardiol breathed a sigh of relief after Richarlison failed to convert his one-on-one by shooting straight at Ortega Moreno. The Croatian’s loose throw-in fell to the Spurs forward who should have tucked away the golden opportunity.

Manchester City will now be looking back to their Premier League title defence as they head to the Vitality Stadium to face Bournemouth on Saturday 2nd November in the second of four consecutive away matches.

Before then, here is how we rated every single player to feature for Manchester City against Tottenham in North London on Wednesday night!

Player Ratings

Starting XI

Stefan Ortega Moreno – 5

Will be annoyed to have conceded at his near post for the second goal. Confident on the ball when pressured. Made a good save in the second half.

Rico Lewis – 6

Struggled in the first-half but started to dictate the game in the second.

John Stones – 6

Been good defensively at right-back and always looked forward when on the ball.

Ruben Dias (C) – 4.5

Really struggled in the first half before getting taken off and was partly to blame for the first goal.

Nathan Ake – 6

Caught out of position for the first goal but was otherwise okay.

Nico O’Reilly – 6

Played a role in Manchester City’s opener and had an eye for finding pockets of space. So close to finding the equaliser late on.

Ilkay Gundogan – 4.5

Not his best game in a Manchester City shirt and came off at half-time with Ruben Dias.

Matheus Nunes – 7.5 (MOTM)

Always looked like a threat when on the ball and took his chance well. One of the standout players from today.

James McAtee – 6

Looked to operate in the half-spaces but struggled with the compact Spurs defence. Had a lot more influence when moved into the false nine position.

Savinho – 7.5

Dangerous on the right wing and was pivotal to Manchester City’s first goal. Very unfortunate to have picked up an injury.

Phil Foden – 5.5

Did not have fun today as the false-nine and failed to create any real chances before being taken off.

Substitutes

Mateo Kovacic – 6

Added a bit more dynamism to the midfield but nothing really changed attacking-wise.

Josko Gvardiol – 6

Played his role defensively but Spurs were still a threat on the counter.

Bernardo Silva – 6.5

Added real confidence and elegance to help create chances in the final third.

Jacob Wright – 6

Gave his all when he came on and had a shot go narrowly wide of the post.

Jahmai Simpson-Pusey – 6

His presence allowed Josko Gvardiol to venture forward and was trusted to defend in a two when he came on for his debut. Had the confidence to play forward through the Spurs lines.

Pep Guardiola and Manchester City have sustained yet another injury blow, this time during the warm-ups ahead of their Carabao Cup meeting with Tottenham.

The latest fitness problem comes at a crucial period for the Premier League champions, who face a run of four consecutive away fixtures including the visit to the capital city on Wednesday night.

Back-to-back visits to the south coast of England will then follow in the Premier League against Bournemouth and Brighton & Hove Albion, sandwiched by a venture into Europe for Champions League action.

That comes against Ruben Amorim’s Sporting Lisbon, who will be nervously awaiting whether their 39-year-old head coach will still be in charge by that point of their season amid strong interest from Manchester United.

But as focus remains very much on the task at hand and the immediate fixture on the horizon, Pep Guardiola has been struck by his seventh injury problem and potential absentee for the upcoming games.

As confirmed by Manchester City in the build-up to kick-off at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the fourth round tie in the Carabao Cup, Ruben Dias came in for Manuel Akanji at the heart of the Premier League champions’ defence.

Reporting from television broadcasters in north London confirmed that the late change to Manchester City’s line-up came as a result of a calf issue sustained by Manuel Akanji in the warm-ups.

The Swiss international becomes Manchester City’s seventh injury and sidelined player after a host of problems sustained in recent weeks, adding to the long-term problems being handled by both Oscar Bobb and Rodri.

The international break in October brought yet more concerns for Pep Guardiola’s side, with Kyle Walker picking up a knee problem that has restricted him from partaking in any training sessions since Manchester City’s return to action.

Jeremy Doku has also picked up an injury during a recent contest with the belief being that the Belgian sustained a problem in the 1-2 away win against Wolves, while Jack Grealish picked up an issue in the following training session.

Kevin De Bruyne remains sidelined and lacking in match fitness having picked up a groin problem during the 0-0 draw against Inter on matchday one of the UEFA Champions League’s league phase in September.

A number of Academy starlets from Manchester City’s youth system have been selected as part of the travelling squad for the Carabao Cup fourth round tie against Tottenham.

Pep Guardiola and his Manchester City side will be looking to further extend their unbeaten start to the season across all competitions, and continue in pursuit of cross-competition silverware this season.

However, the clash against Ange Postecoglou’s side comes at a challenging time for Guardiola and his staff, as they look to balance a string of injury-induced absentees with a hectic looming fixture schedule across the Premier League and UEFA Champions League.

City moved to the top of the Premier League last weekend as a 1-0 win over Southampton at the Etihad Stadium was followed by a 2-2 draw between Arsenal and Liverpool, leaving the champions one point ahead of Arne Slot’s men, and five of Mikel Arteta’s squad.

As for Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham, their mixed start to the season which has featured some impressive results in competitions was most recently added to by a drab 1-0 defeat at the hands of Crystal Palace.

City will once again be without both Rodri and Oscar Bobb, while Kyle Walker, Jeremy Doku, and Jack Grealish are all expected to remain absent through injury recovery. Kevin De Bruyne is also not ready for this one, despite continuing to be present in first-team training.

Ahead of the confirmed team news from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Wednesday night, some initial information has began to filter throughout social media from journalists and sources regarding Manchester City’s starting line-up.

According to the information of Manchester World’s Michael Plant, 18-year-old defender Jahmai Simpson-Pusey is part of Pep Guardiola’s travelling Manchester City squad that has made the journey to North London on Wednesday.

Joining Simpson-Pusey is Nico O’Reilly, who is once again part of the Manchester City squad following a stellar pre-season camp with Pep Guardiola, while Jacob Wright and Farid Alfa-Ruprecht are also part of the matchday squad in north London tonight.

As per the reporting of the Manchester Evening News’ Simon Bajkowski, no fit senior first-team players have been given the night off by Pep Guardiola against Tottenham, with all available players travelling including Erling Haaland.

Ange Postecoglou and Pep Guardiola are expected to confirmed their respective Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City starting line-ups around 19:15 (UK) on Wednesday night.

Manchester City have included 18-year-old Academy defender Jahmai Simpson-Pusey for their Carabao Cup fourth round clash against Tottenham, it has been reported.

The inclusion of the teenager would follow the trend indicated by Pep Guardiola in the build-up to Wednesday night’s League Cup affair, after the Catalan has insisted that he would not be willing to take any fitness risks when it comes to his line-up.

Prior to the fourth round draw having been finalised, Guardiola indicated that he would make significant changes to his selection, however the growing list of injury problems have largely forced his hand when it comes to his line-up.

The challenge of Premier League opposition and Ange Postecoglou’s side’s mentality towards the game will also likely force Guardiola into putting together a stronger side than he would have liked.

However, the Catalan will certainly not shy away from including up and coming Academy talents in his matchday squad, and likely handing them minutes as part of an invaluable first-team opportunity this week.

According to the information of ManchesterWorld’s Michael Plant, 18-year-old defender Jahmai Simpson-Pusey has been included in the Manchester City first-team squad for Wednesday’s night’s League Cup clash at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Simpson-Pusey most notably captained Manchester City’s youth team to an FA Youth Cup success during the last season, and was part of the club’s travelling squad for their pre-season tour of the United States, but is yet to play a senior competitive game for Pep Guardiola’s side.

The last round against Watford in what resulted in a 2-1 victory for City at the Etihad Stadium saw Pep Guardiola field 16-year-old Kaden Braithwaite in the left-back role, and it remains to be seen whether a further opportunity for the teenager could follow this week.

Speaking during his pre-match press conference ahead of the game, Guardiola told reporters, “I don’t want to put too much pressure for the young players in this stage against this opponent, for the way they play.

“There are some [youth players], but we play against Spurs. They are coming from a defeat and I know what is happening mentally, playing against Man City.”

Pep Guardiola has welcomed now-former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag to the City Football Academy for any advice or support in future.

The dismissal of the Dutchman from his position of head coach at Old Trafford made him the first managerial casualty of the season after a hugely negative start to the new season at Manchester United.

The Old Trafford club have moved quickly to try and secure a replacement, leading themselves to Ruben Amorim of Sporting CP, who has received the seal of approval from Pep Guardiola and Matheus Nunes.

That is a conversation touched upon in Guardiola’s latest pre-match press conference, as the Manchester City manager covered his early days at the club, what the future holds across town, and numerous injury updates within his first-team squad.

Ahead of the Carabao Cup fourth round tie between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City in North London this week, here is every single word from the second-half of Pep Guardiola’s pre-match press conference!

On life without Rodri so far

“We are less strong. With him, we are better. And with Kevin (De Bruyne) we are better, and with Kyle Walker we are better, and with Oscar (Bobb) and all the people now with long injuries we are better. But what I said, now he has to recover well for the next season and we have to handle the team and game by game, try to win games.”

On whether Rodri’s absence has given him a new challenge

“The challenge is win tomorrow against Spurs, play a good game, and the other ones. We will see at the end of the season what happens. Imagine in any sports, in basketball and the Golden State Warriors playing without Stephen Curry or Barcelona in his prime playing without (Lionel) Messi. You’d wish it had been different! They should be less strong.

“It’s the same with us! Rodri is irreplaceable, we know it and the players, but we have to move on. Yeah, do it, and what can we say now is that Kova (Mateo Kovacic) is playing there and Gundo (Ilkay Gundogan) is playing there – they were exceptional and one day we’ll play Manu (Akanji) and we’ll play John (Stones) in that position. And I know they will play good. So it’s what we have to do.”

On whether he would invite Erik ten Hag in for some advice and help during his time away from football

“Any time! No, seriously. Many people come and always we are open, but I think he knows exactly what we do, and I think it’s not going to happen but of course, I know his agent a little bit, so the relation is there so there’s no problem for me, for us.”

On whether managers often phone him for advice

“Advice? No. Just take a look. Managers don’t have to ask for advice, they know exactly everyone and what they have to do, because the reality in every club, in every team, and in every player is completely different to the other ones. The advice for copy and paste for other ones, it doesn’t work.”

On whether the turn over of managers in English football surprises him

“No it’s surprising how long I’ve been here, not for the other ones being a short time. Nine years today is a lot! That’s true. Before in England, maybe we were more patient with managers than other countries but now the reality is the pressure is everywhere, the results have to be given and qualify for the Champions League is big for the clubs for many reasons – the sporting aspect, but economically as well.

“What can I say? What I said is if I’m here nine years is because we won many, many times and it’s not putting in perspective of for the way we’re playing or the other ones, no, no. We won, and if we won that’s why I’m the longest one right now. Like who we are, not just me, we are so proud of that.”

On injuries for Tottenham

“I don’t think so (on Jack Grealish).”

On Kevin De Bruyne and a return date

“I don’t think so. I would like to tell you, especially I would like to know it. But I don’t know. I don’t know right now. He feels better and can train, but going to the level that we need for competition, when he kicks the ball or something he still has pain and he doesn’t feel… And Kevin has to feel good, you know, to express his huge talent that he has.”

On whether Kevin De Bruyne’s injury has been more complicated than he anticipated

“Yeah. (Thought he would be back quicker?) Yeah. That’s why I’m not a doctor.”

On whether he is waiting for Kevin De Bruyne to tell him he is feeling better

“No, he’s feeling better but not the best. It’s for sure that if these guys don’t come back as quick as possible, we will struggle. Because we cannot sustain with just 14, 15 players for the season. We need the players to come back. But it is what it is. So hopefully it can happen after the international break.”

On if he has any more ideas about bringing youth players to Tottenham

“There is someone, yeah, but we play against Spurs. They are coming from defeat, I know what’s happened mentally for the managers, the players, playing against Man City – sorry to tell you again – the last four Premier Leagues in a row winners, and I know they will be the best and that’s why…

“You know, Carabao Cup we won also four in a row, always I use the first rounds like playing the guys who didn’t play maybe regularly and when I arrive in the semi-finals and after I take it seriously this competition. Always I take it seriously, but it’s OK we’re going to win it (from the semi-finals).

“But now we have a problem that we have a lot of injured players and I cannot rotate much and of course I don’t want to put too much pressure on the young, young players in this stage, against this opponent, for the way they play. And that’s why I have to make a mix for the players, for split minutes, 45 minutes and 45 minutes trying to decide because we will arrive at 2 or 3AM Wednesday night and Friday morning we have to travel to Bournemouth.

“Bournemouth have all week and is out of the Carabao Cup and it’s a really, really intense game, the way they play, how good they are and that’s why I have to try to think about it a little bit, one eye on that because… And after travel to Lisbon for three days, the recovery will be so difficult this time and that’s why you have to take a look at how the players come back today in the training session, how fresh and try to minimise the mistakes in the selection.”

On John Stones playing at striker

“No… After nine years, I’m not a funny guy, I know that. But some jokes you have to get it! Of course, he can play a few minutes, but as a striker from the beginning, I don’t want to ruin his career.”

On his best options at striker in any absence of Erling Haaland

“I don’t have much, but some ideas I have. We will see, we will see tomorrow.”

On Ruben Amorim and the biggest lesson to learn coming to England for the first time in a debut season

“Only I can talk is about the experience I played twice against Ruben’s Sporting Lisboa team one or two seasons ago, and the impression was really, really good. I spoke with Matheus Nunes that was his player and he spoke highly about him.

“And look at this season, he’s unbeaten winning all of the games in the Portuguese league and the Champions League the same points with us. So a highly manager, so I have the feeling that if Man United, what I hear, is thinking about him it’s because he’s a good manager.

“So Man United don’t appoint managers that don’t meet that level. All the managers they’ve had in the last five, six, seven years we cannot say they are not able to lead Man United. What’s going to happen, I don’t know, and what happened in my experience here doesn’t mean it works for the other ones.

“Everyone is everyone because managers are the team, the club, the structure, the physios, the doctors, the players – it’s many things! And what happened here doesn’t mean it’s going to happen in another place.”

On whether a move to Manchester United might be too soon for Ruben Amorim give his quick rise in the game

“Why so quick? What is the problem? I started in Barcelona at 37 years-old coming from the fourth division, so knowledge is knowledge. If you are able, it doesn’t matter. For that reason, Lamine Yamal could not play football at 17 years-old, right? So he has to wait till 24. And there are people who are 56 or 57 that are not able to be a manager. What is important is the talent, if you are good. It doesn’t matter the age. Right?”

On whether there was any point in his first season at Manchester City where he was fearing for his job

“Never. I never had that feeling.”

On how he lived with the pressure in the first season

“I handled it good. After I won my first season the sextuple with Barcelona, every year the people asked me for the treble. When I’m sitting here, the people, all of you, ask me, ‘When are you going to win the Champions League? You are here to win the Champions League’.

“So I spent seven years to do it. So I know it, and I know because I deal with Txiki (Begiristain), or with Ferran (Soriano), or with the people there and they knew perfectly that everything, sometimes it’s quicker, needs time. And doing it in two seasons is quicker! It’s so, so quick, to win the Premier League just in the second season. So sometimes you need…

“But I know one of the reasons why I came here is because I know the people above me, the people who judge me if you will continue or I sack you, we know eachother quite well. I knew it was a process and we analysed it and in the first season we did many, many good things.

“The way we played, we played really, really good. It was a team like Chelsea under Antonio Conte that was unstoppable, playing one game a week and they were a machine. So they deserved and they were better, but we learned from that.

“It’s what I’ve said before, sometimes you need to lose and make the process to know what is going on. The problem is when you judge just exclusively for the results. The club judge for that? They are in trouble.

“To sustain just the results and the idea is the fundamentals and the process is getting better, and better, and better, and better you are not judged from that, the clubs are unstable. And I never had that feeling. Maybe they felt it, but they never made me feel that they were thinking of that.

“Another issue would have been the second or third season, getting worse and not good, of course I would not be here. Maybe I would’ve been the first to say, ‘Guys, I’m not able to get results and the Club is better to change the situation’. So it’s not much more difficult than that.”

Manchester City resume their Carabao Cup duties this season with a trip to Premier League ‘big six’ rivals Tottenham on Wednesday evening.

Despite questions being raised about their performance levels of late, Pep Guardiola’s side have raced out to the top of English top-flight table after nine games, sitting one point clear of Liverpool after their draw with Arsenal over the weekend.

But the Etihad Stadium outfit will switch their attention to the Carabao Cup as they square off with Tottenham in north London – a fixture that has given Manchester City plenty of problems over the years.

Ahead of the League Cup clash, fans are expecting a heavily-rotated team after Pep Guardiola said, “The next round, I announce to you now, I play the second team,” after dispatching of Watford in the previous round.

But Pep Guardiola may have been talking a big game before he knew Manchester City would be drawing Tottenham in the next round. There does however remain plenty to think about with six major absentees from first-team action.

All sidelined through injury are Rodri and Oscar Bobb, who continue to recover from long-term lay-offs, Jack Grealish Jeremy Doku, Kyle Walker and Kevin De Bruyne, with the latter continuing to build up fitness in first-team training.

Despite the the potential for major rotation at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, we’ll take a stab at just how the Manchester City boss might set his side up on Wednesday night!

Predicted XI

Stefan Ortega Moreno has been Pep Guardiola’s go-to man in between the sticks for the cup competitions ever since the German arrived in 2022, and there is no expectation that anything will change this week.

With Kyle Walker having fallen down the pecking order due in large part to the superb form of Rico Lewis at right-back, his knee injury sustained during the last international break will allow for no let-up for the teenager.

Manuel Akanji remains ever-reliable in the centre-back position, and with Ruben Dias seeming to spend Monday night in Paris celebrating Rodri’s Ballon d’Or triumph, it will most likely be John Stones who will join the Swiss international in defence.

Nathan Ake’s return to the team is a welcome sight for all Manchester City fans, and he should get the nod in the left-back role to give Josko Gvardiol the night off amid a crunch run of cross-competition fixtures.

From midfield up to attack, we will truly start to see the rotation this week.

Ilkay Gundogan is whom we expect to be the steady head in the Manchester City engine room at Tottenham, but he could be joined by impressive youngster Nico O’Reilly – who was subjected to enormous praise from Pep Guardiola throughout pre-season in the summer.

Ahead of the two holding midfielders and more defensively-minded pairing, we should see Phil Foden continue to find his feet in a central attacking role and be granted the keys to Manchester City’s creative output.

Savinho may just be the only option on the right-wing due to the injuries that continue to hamper Pep Guardiola’s attacking line, and so the Brazilian international will bring his flare to the front-three once again.

The biggest surprise in the line-up could be James McAtee, who we expect to take up the false-nine role in order to hand Erling Haaland some much-needed rest amid an intense schedule.

With both Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku still out injured for this one, and the latter not expected back until after the international break, Matheus Nunes will likely keep his starting spot on the left-wing – a role he has excelled in since the start of the month.

Predicted XI: Ortega Moreno; Walker, Akanji, Stones, Ake; Gundogan, O’Reilly, Foden; Savinho, McAtee, Nunes.

Pep Guardiola and his Manchester City players will now face a horror schedule of four consecutive away matches in late October and early November.

That comes after the Carabao Cup and Manchester City finalised the fixture scheduling of the fourth round tie against Tottenham at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, following Pep Guardiola’s progression in the tournament.

The club were issued with a third round tie at home to Championship side Watford that caused plenty of controversy within the club over its allocation to a Tuesday night slot – just 49 hours after the conclusion of Manchester City’s 2-2 draw against Arsenal in the Premier League.

Goals from Jeremy Doku and Matheus Nunes were enough to get Manchester City over the line in a heavily changed selection issued by Guardiola, despite a late scare from Tom Ince to pile on some pressure in the closing exchanges.

Now with Premier League and UEFA Champions League fixtures also coming thick and fast, a further contest has been added into Manchester City’s October scheduling in what makes up the first of four successive away fixtures.

As confirmed by Manchester City this week, the club’s Carabao Cup fourth round tie against Tottenham Hotspur in North London will be played on Wednesday 30 October, with kick-off scheduled for 20:15 (UK), broadcast live on Sky Sports Main Event for viewers in the UK.

As such, Manchester City will follow up their meeting with Ange Postecoglou’s side by returning south the following Saturday for a 3PM meeting against AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League.

Then it will be UEFA Champions League action once again for the club as they take on Sporting CP in Lisbon on the following Tuesday night, before returning to the south coast of England for a clash against Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday 9 November.

Manager Pep Guardiola has already made it clear that he will not be prioritising the Carabao Cup with his best selection, stating during a recent press conference that he has no intention of ‘wasting energy’ on the League Cup.

“In the next round, we’re going to play the players that play less minutes or the second team. We are not going to waste energy for this competition, for sure,” said Guardiola.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen, but if I have a lot, a lot of injuries we’re going to play the second team. And if we have players and the whole squad is ready, it’s a good competition to take rhythm. That’s for sure.”