Pep won’t just give presents to youngsters
PEP GUARDIOLA has challenged the latest breakthrough acts from Manchester City’s academy to prove tonight they deserve a chance in the first team.
The City manager is set to include half-a-dozen rising stars in his squad for the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final against Burton.
And while there is no pressure on the team in terms of a result, after a 9-0 first-leg victory at the Etihad earlier in the month settled the tie, Guardiola says there is plenty more at stake for his youngsters.
“It is a massive opportunity for them to be close to the first team but it is not easy – we don’t give presents because they are nice or something special,” he said.
“It depends on them. They have to show us, they have to play their level. I have said many times that it is not dependent on the manager, it is dependent on them.”
Midfielder Phil Foden, 18, has blazed a trail from academy to first team and will start tonight. Another of Guardiola’s tips for the top, the highly rated Eric Garcia, 18, played in the first leg and will also be in the XI at Pirelli Stadium.
In addition to that pair, Philippe Sandler, 21, Luke Bolton, 19, and Iker Pozo, Taylor Richards and Carlo Poveda, all 18, are pushing for minutes, having recently trained with the first team.
If the prospect of Kevin De Bruyne playing the full 90 minutes alongside the young stars trying to make a mark is not enough to make Burton’s knees knock, there will be no let up in City’s standards.
“We start the game at 9-0, which is unusual for a semi-final,” Guardiola said. “But the approach is to improve every single game and this can help us to improve what we want to do.”
City need to win by a three clear goals tonight to better the current record aggregate score over two legs in the competition.
An 11-goal margin has been achieved five times – by Liverpool twice (against Exeter 11-0 in 1981 and Fulham 13-2 in 1986), West Ham (Bury 12-1 in 1983), Watford (Darlington 11-0 in 1987) and Everton (Wrexham 11-0 in 1990).