Kalvin Phillips and Mateo Kovacic WILL play says Pep

Manchester City are preparing for Carabao Cup action against Newcastle United in a third-round fixture tomorrow evening at 20:00 ( UK ), and manager Pep Guardiola has player updates and reasons behind his decisions during a press conference earlier on.

The current Premier League leaders, will go into this game with a perfect winning streak and also the favorites to win the game. But of course, Newcastle are hardly underdogs in this tie as they continue to prove their quality every week.

The two teams have already met this season, which ended 1-0 to Manchester City, thanks to a goal from Julian Alvarez.

Player Updates

Pep has confirmed the status of some names of the City squad, telling us that Jack Grealish and Mateo Kovacic will indeed play against Newcastle, ” Jack is better, Mateo as well. I don’t know how many minutes, from the beginning or second half, but they are going to play. ”

Jack Grealish featured for a few minutes during the 2-0 over Nottingham Forest over the weekend, so the bigger news comes for Mateo Kovacic here. But supporters will be glad to see some of their players make returns to the pitch.

On another note, Pep has verified that Kalvin Phillips will start on Wednesday after he was brought on after Rodri’s red card.

Why these certain decisions have been made by Pep

Pep has been clear about his intentions not to start specific names, such as Ruben Dias and Kyle Walker, and explains why this is the correct choice, ” You have some players who don’t play regularly, and this is perfect as it’s better than a training session. Tomorrow is important but not as important as Arsenal, Wolves, and Leipzig.”

He then continued as he added, ” We will go into this to win the game, there is no doubt about that, but I have to take into consideration the amount of effort in this. We have to avoid more injuries; otherwise, we’ll be in trouble .”

A very understandable statement by the City manager. And while we know that he will surely want to come out of this game as the winning side, the upcoming PL and UCL games hold a bit more importance for the club, as I feel it will for fans as well.

And while there will be a difference in performance with these players sitting out, I don’t think it would be too worrying for the Citizens, as we all know the amount of talent packed into this treble-winning side.

Who will wear the armband?

Man City have five players with the responsibility of captaincy this season, but with De Bruyne ( injury ), Bernardo Silva ( injury ), Rodri ( suspension ), Ruben Dias ( rest ), and Kyle Walker ( rest ) all unavailable, it remains a pondering thought who will be chosen as a replacement.

You can watch Newcastle vs Manchester City on Wednesday evening, at 20:00.