Manchester City Face the Foxes: Carabao Cup Preview
By David Crook
It is almost exactly 12 months since Manchester City last faced Leicester away in the Carabao Cup and City went on to win their first major trophy of the Guardiola era.
In fact both times City have won the competition in the last 4 years they have beaten Leicester at this point in the competition, so facing them again will hopefully be another good omen. But this will be a different game than in previous years with Leicester somewhat in the doldrums and in desperate need of a positive result to resurrect their season. Indeed this may well see Leicester play their best 11 players in an attempt both to arrest their decline and kick start their league campaign.
So far Leicester have eased past Fleetwood Town 4:0 and then beaten two Premier League sides on penalties – Wolves and Southampton – to progress this far. Claude Puel, Leicester Manager has selected some strong squads in these games and I would expect tomorrow to be no different. At the weekend Leicester lost to Crystal Palace and Puel will be seeking a reaction from his players.
Last season our Carabao Cup progression against Leicester was confirmed by the penalty antics of Claudio Bravo. Given Leicester’s two previous ties have gone to penalties, I hope Manchester City have been practising theirs.
Guardiola meanwhile has already indicated he expects Kevin De Bruyne to start the match and i would guess he is most likely to play alongside Phil Foden in the centre of our midfield. Whether or not Fernandinho is risked for this game or saved for the weekend is a difficult call but on balance I would expect Fabian Delph to start as defensive midfield and Zinchenko to complete left back duties in his place.
More from Game preview
- Penalty miss from Haaland and later scored, late equalizer from Sheffield and final moment from Rodri extend City’s perfect start in the Premier League
- Manchester City vs Manchester United FA Cup Final: Predicted Lineup for City
- Manchester City vs Brighton & Hove Albion: Predicted Lineups
- Manchester City vs. Real Madrid: Predicted lineup for Manchester City
- Manchester City vs. Real Madrid: The 3 Keys to Victory
Muric will likely start in goal and Danilo will be at right back, assuming his recovery is going well. The two centre backs will feature Vincent Kompany and John Stones, both of whom need some more minutes on the pitch. Kompany was lucky not to be red carded within minutes in the corresponding fixture last season so will need to be on his toes from the off.
The attackers are always difficult to predict – will Guardiola give Brahim Diaz another opportunity despite the fact he is moving on? Will Mahrez be given the chance to play against Leicester or will he have that chance on Boxing Day? My best guess is that Sergio Aguero will start to aid his recovery and he will be flanked by Leroy Sane and Riyad Mahrez, with Sterling rested for Saturday.
Next. Manchester City Draw Schalke in the Champions League. dark
My final prediction is we may have a youthful bench available for this game -with Felix Nmecha and others having the real chance to get first team minutes if this game goes according to plan. I am hoping for a victory and progression to the next round. I like the League Cup because it comes early in the season and sets the team up for the title run in and because there are many tickets available for match going fans. The inevitable fixture congestion after Christmas is worth tolerating.
Man City Square Predicted Starting XI
4-3-3 Formation
Goalkeeper
Arno Muric
Defence
Danilo, Stones, Kompany, Zinchenko
Midfield
Delph, De Bruyne, Foden
Attack
Sane, Aguero, Mahrez