Manchester City: Defending the Carabao Cup away to Oxford United

When Manchester City have drawn lower league sides in Cup competitions in recent seasons we tend to find ourselves against teams at the top of the table who are on long unbeaten runs.

But the Carabao Cup this year has seen us start our defence of the trophy away to Oxford United. Oxford currently sit second from bottom in League 1 having had an indifferent start to the season. This is a team who on Saturday lost 2:1 at home to Walsall partly as a result of their continued ability to make simple mistakes to let the opposition in.

So this could be a new experience for Man City – playing against a team not only low on confidence, but on a poor run of form. However, as City fans we are always expecting that “typical City” moment to materialise – this is the kind of game we fear losing. We lost to Wigan in a FA Cup Fifth Round for goodness sake!

There was a period when we seemed to play Oxford United on a fairly regular basis back in the 1980s and 1990s but we seemed to part ways in about 1997/98 and haven’t played each other since.

I remember going to a few City v Oxford games at Maine Road in 1986/7 and 1988/89 when it was one of the games which we seemed to win. The last time we played Oxford was on 7 March 1998 when they beat us 2:0 at Maine Road in Division 1 in front of a crowd of 28690.

Of course this was our most disastrous season because although Oxford cemented their Division 1 status finishing mid table we got ourselves relegated (by 1 point). The relegation saw us plummet into our lowest position but became the beginning of our resurrection.

And before any Oxford United fans get too smug -Oxford were relegated in 1998/99, the very year we were promoted again in the play offs – which is why it is so long since we last played Oxford United and our paths have not crossed.

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Our head to head record with Oxford United is Played 13, Won 6, Drawn 2 and Lost 5.

Tuesday nights game seems to provide an opportunity for Pep Guardiola to offer game time to some players who have featured very little so far this season. How may risks Pep will take with the Manchester City side given he will know the rigours of League 1 sides in his time so far in the UK, is difficult to predict.

However I would expect Guardiola to take an opportunity to rest a number of his regular side against Oxford and to fill the bench with some experience just in case we need to either rescue the result or to see the game out.

I would expect Arno Muric to start in goal and to have a fairly strong back 4 in front of him. I suspect Club Captain Vincent Kompany will start but he may partner a younger player for experience – I would guess either Cameron Humphries or Phillipe Sandler.

Humphries made an impact for City on the US Tour and has appeared free from the injury concerns which blighted last season. Sandler was signed from Zwolle in the summer and his early career at City has also been effected by injury.

I suspect Danilo may start at right back – I have seen at training he seems to be close to a match return. If Danilo is not deemed sufficiently match fit then it could be the chance for Pep to risk Joel Latibeaudiere who has impressed in a number of EDS games over the last 18 months. Oleksandr Zinchenko will be playing at left back in his first start of the season as I believe Pep will seek to rest Fabian Delph who has been carrying a slight ankle knock in recent games. Zinchenko will hopefully be able to roam forwards against Oxford United and if he starts I would expect him to score.

Our midfield is likely to be a combination of experience and youth, with Phil Foden and Brahim Diaz almost guaranteed to begin the game. When Foden came on at Cardiff he looked a natural fit for us but I worry how he may cope with physical challenges.

Last season in the Carabao Cup, Foden was injured against Leicester which severely limited his availability for part of the competition. I expect one experienced first team midfielder to lead the team – either David Silva or Ilkay Gundogan with the remaining midfield berth given over to another rising player. Which one may well depend upon the formation selected by Pep but we could see Claudio Gomes, Tom Dele-Bashiru or Luke Bolton. All of these players would be capable of seizing their opportunity.

Next. Player ratings from the Cardiff City game. dark

Upfront I would expect Gabriel Jesus to lead the line but there may be an opportunity from the bench for another of our youngsters to make their debut such as 17 year old Nabil Touaizi or Rabbi Matondo.

It will be an unfamiliar looking Manchester City who head out onto the pitch against Oxford United on Tuesday evening but I hope the result will be familiar and City secure a victory. If the game goes according to plan I hope some of these young players provide Pep Guardiola with a welcome selection dilemma over the coming weeks.

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