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Box-To-Box 8: Manchester City Thoughts from Today’s Match

By Tim Crean

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 24: Bright Enobakhare of Wolverhampton Wanderers and Eliaquim Mangala of Manchester City battle for the ball during the Carabao Cup Fourth Round match between Manchester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Etihad Stadium on October 24, 2017 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 24: Bright Enobakhare of Wolverhampton Wanderers and Eliaquim Mangala of Manchester City battle for the ball during the Carabao Cup Fourth Round match between Manchester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Etihad Stadium on October 24, 2017 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images) /
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4) Bernardo, Gundogan & Danilo need more playing time.

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 24: Josep Guardiola, Manager of Manchester City speaks to his players prior to extra time, during the Carabao Cup Fourth Round match between Manchester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Etihad Stadium on October 24, 2017 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 24: Josep Guardiola, Manager of Manchester City speaks to his players prior to extra time, during the Carabao Cup Fourth Round match between Manchester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Etihad Stadium on October 24, 2017 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images) /

Pep Guardiola has finally found a rotation he likes at Manchester City and has stuck to it pretty religiously. Not accounting for injuries, his starting lineup has pretty much been chosen from the same 12 or 13 players for the first quarter of the season here. This means young, talented players such as Bernardo Silva, Ilkay Gundogan and Danilo have been relegated to a substitute role for the majority of Man City’s Premier and Champions League games. The problem with this is on days like today, when they do get a chance to start they look rusty and disengaged from the regular first team-ers. This is a long season, playing on a lot of fronts. If Pep hopes to bring multiple trophies back to the Etihad this year he needs to get those three involved in more meaningful games.