Man City vs. Brentford: Pep Guardiola told not to start key £50m player as EFL Cup prediction is made

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola should rest key midfielder Nico Gonzalez if he is to make multiple changes to his starting lineup for Wednesday’s EFL Cup quarter-final against Brentford at the Etihad Stadium, Citizens expert Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany has told Sports Mole.

In the absence of injured duo Rodri and Mateo Kovacic, Gonzalez has been forced to play regularly at the base of City’s midfield, starting in each of the last 11 matches in all competitions and playing the full 90 minutes in 10 of those games.

Man City have won nine of those 11 games that Gonzalez has started (L2), with the £50m signing from Porto last January scoring his first goal of the season in an important 3-0 home win over reigning Premier League champions Liverpool last month.

Gonzalez and co have also kept back-to-back clean sheets in the Premier League, winning by 3-0 scorelines against Sunderland and Crystal Palace, with victory over the latter last weekend moving them to within two points of leaders Arsenal.

Man City are now focused on securing their spot in the EFL Cup semi-finals and while Guardiola would welcome progress in this competition, McInerney would not be surprised to see the Catalan make wholesale changes to freshen up his side.

Gonzalez “has to be rested” in EFL Cup tie as Pep ponders Man City changes

Speaking to Sports Mole, McInerney said: “I don't think Guardiola's going to value this competition in the way that people would expect him to. I might be wrong, but given the fact we've got West Ham at home (in the Premier League on Saturday), he might think that he can switch it up a little bit.

“Maybe [Tijjani] Reijnders can start, maybe [Phil] Foden, but Nico Gonzalez has to be rested in this game. He cannot keep playing every single game for 90 minutes, because he's the only midfielder we've got that can play that No.6 role well, given Kovacic and Rodri are both out injured right now.”

He added: “It was a vastly changed side (for the 3-1 fourth-round win over Swansea). He's going to change it an awful lot (against Brentford). The Carabao Cup is a double-edged sword for Guardiola. He obviously wants to rest people and also wants to play the players who got themselves there.

“I think it's convenient that he can do the whole, ‘I'll play the players who got us there’, because it also gives him a chance to rest people.”

Asked if Guardiola could make 10 or 11 changes, as he did for a 2-0 Champions League loss to Bayer Leverkusen a few weeks ago, McInerney said: “Absolutely. When I think about players who have to rest and players that have to play, there’s two sides of the same coin.

“[Gianluigi] Donnarumma has to rest, [James] Trafford has to play, and then you have to rest [Ruben] Dias and [Josko] Gvardiol, of course you do. You have to, because they are our starting centre-backs and John Stones is injured. So that means [Abdukodir] Khusanov and [Nathan] Ake start immediately.

“[Matheus] Nunes will probably be rested, and that means Rico Lewis will play. [Erling] Haaland's going to be rested, of course he is. Oscar Bobb and Savinho will probably start, and all of a sudden you're changing most of the side there. [Divine] Mukasa has started in previous rounds, so maybe he gets to start again.

Reijnders, Lewis, Mukasa among midfield names in contention to start

“It's going to be interesting to see what he does, but I think he's got no choice... his hands are forced here really, he's going to have to play multiple players, because the alternative is he keeps running some players into ground.

“Last season's lessons have taught us that players need a break. I think the injuries, thankfully touch wood, have been lesser than last year already, just because the players aren't as injury prone. I think it's very obvious that some of these players are younger and less likely to get injured.

“Last season, all the centre-backs were constantly injured, we had [Kevin] De Bruyne constantly injured, Kovacic was picking up knocks and there were just injuries constantly. Even Savinho and [Jeremy] Doku were getting injured more last season as well - Doku's injured now, of course.

“I just think he'll have to make changes. I think if it was the semis of the Carabao Cup, it'd be different, but I think for the quarters, it is what it is. We've got bigger fish to fry and I think the Carabao Cup will take the hit.”

Sharing his thoughts on who Guardiola could select in his midfield if he does decide to rest Gonzalez, McInerney said: “He might start Reijnders alongside Rico Lewis. He might start Mukasa. I wouldn't be surprised if [Rayan] Cherki or [Phil] Foden, one of those two starts, probably Cherki, maybe not Phil.

“I know he's played an awful lot, but Cherki might get another game because he's of that young age where he's adapting to the team. He's not going to play Bernardo [Silva]. Bernardo cannot run that much.

“He could play an academy lad. I know a young lad called Harrison Miles who’s a midfielder that City really rate. He's been training with the first team an awful lot. We could get a random 17, 18 year old in midfield. I don't think so, but we'll have to see.”

Could Brentford force penalties vs. Man City in EFL Cup quarter-final?

McInerney is confident that Man City will prevail against Brentford if Guardiola decides to stick with a strong lineup, but he feels that the Citizens may require a penalty shootout to get the better of the Bees if they name a much-changed side.

“It's really hard for me to judge this one. It's incredibly hard. My head says a billion things,” said McInerney. “My prediction and my current state of mood is based around Guardiola making multiple changes.

"He might not make as many as you think. Sometimes Guardiola does that way. He might start [Nico] O'Reilly and Nunes in this this one, as well as Cherki and Reijnders. He might also start Haaland. You wouldn't be surprised if Guardiola did that.

“I don't mean to go as far as (starting) Haaland, but I wouldn't be surprised if four or five of the first team was starting... in that scenario, I see City winning comfortably and I'll say City winning 3-1 or something like that.

"In the scenario - which I think is more likely - where it's multiple changes, I think a draw at full time is most likely. I think I'm going to go for 2-2, and on penalties it's a toss of a coin. I'll go City because why not? Just a narrow win on penalties.”

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