City Begin Carabao Cup Defence With Norwich Visit
Manchester City start their Carabao Cup defence on Thursday evening, with Norwich City the visitors to the Etihad. It is a third-round tie that, on paper at least, looks about as straightforward as they come. Kick-off is 7.30pm BST on September 17.
Enzo Maresca is expected to shuffle his pack. With one of the strongest squads in the Premier League at his disposal, the City boss can afford to make wholesale changes and still field a side capable of brushing aside Championship opposition. Norwich sit 12th in the second tier after seven games, having seen off MK Dons and Cardiff City to reach this stage.
Phil Foden, however, will not be involved. His red card for violent conduct in the 1-0 win over Manchester United means he begins a three-match ban. That opens the door for Allan to make his first appearance for the club, while fellow summer signing Geronimo Rulli is also in line for a debut.
Nico O'Reilly could start at left-back, having made a late substitute appearance at Old Trafford after recovering from a back injury. Josko Gvardiol would be the man to make way. Rico Lewis, Vitor Reis, Abdukodir Khusanov, Ayyoub Bouaddi, Mateo Kovacic and Iliman Ndiaye are all candidates to come into the starting line-up.
Jeremy Doku remains sidelined with the calf problem he picked up in the Community Shield. The winger is targeting a return after the international break. Erling Haaland is the only recognised centre-forward in the squad, though Antoine Semenyo can play through the middle if Maresca decides to rest his top scorer.
Norwich have injury concerns of their own. Jovon Makama has had his troubles with foot injuries but is pushing for a first start since February after scoring off the bench against Middlesbrough last weekend. Mathias Kvistgaarden and Papa Amadou Diallo were both omitted from the matchday squad at the Riverside but should return here. Left-back Lucien Mahovo is yet to feature this season because of an ankle ligament issue and will not train again until the international break. Mirko Topic is still working his way back from the ACL injury he sustained last November, while Ali Ahmed suffered a similar problem in pre-season and faces a lengthy absence. Gabriel Forsyth played 60 minutes for the Under-21s last week after 21 months out with a knee injury, but he is not ready for first-team football yet.
City go into the tie on a five-game winning run. They have also won their last three meetings with Norwich by an aggregate score of 14-0, including back-to-back 5-0 wins at the Etihad. The bookmakers are not expecting an upset. City are as short as 3/19 to win in 90 minutes, with Norwich at 17/1 and the draw at 17/2. In the To Qualify market, which brings penalties into play, City are 1/14 and Norwich 11/1. For the outright trophy, City are 11/2 third favourites behind Arsenal and Chelsea.
For those inclined to have a flutter, City -2 on the handicap is 3/5, a win to nil is 21/20 and winning both halves is 1/1. Semenyo, who registered four goals and two assists in eight domestic cup appearances for City last season after his move from Bournemouth, is 11/10 to score anytime and 5/1 to open the scoring. Ndiaye, impressive off the bench at Old Trafford, is 7/5 to get his first goal for the club.
Maresca may rest key players, but the gap in quality should still be too wide.