Three Man City youngsters who should feature vs Brentford as Pep Guardiola ready to ring changes
Pep Guardiola has all but admitted that Man City will put out a massively changed lineup to face Brentford in the Carabao Cup.
Man City beat Crystal Palace 3-0 on Sunday, 14 December, to keep up the chase on Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table. The gap remains at two points for now.
Attention now turns to cup competitions, with Man City set to face Brentford on Wednesday, 17 December, but the manager has already voiced his opinion on the upcoming game.
Jeremy Doku is the latest on the injury list, joining Rodri in the treatment room, as well as John Stones and Mateo Kovacic. Guardiola really cannot afford any other serious setbacks.
Therefore, here are three academy stars who have certainly done enough to earn themselves a spot in the squad for the Carabao Cup.
Kaden Braithwaite
Guardiola is no stranger to calling up young centre-backs for the cup competitions, and Kaden Braithwaite would be the perfect candidate to be given a chance this time around.
The 17-year-old is already featuring for the Under-21s, as well as playing a key role in the UEFA Youth League, most recently helping oversee a 4-0 win over Real Madrid.
He is extremely adaptable, also playing in central midfield and left-back in recent matches, which could see him catch the eye of the first-team manager.
Divine Mukasa
Divine Mukasa made his senior debut earlier in the competition, grabbing an assist in the 2-0 win over Huddersfield Town in September, and appeared again against Swansea City.
The 18-year-old made the bench for the Crystal Palace game at the weekend, having also played against Real Madrid in the Youth League, just one game after netting a hat-trick against Bayer Leverkusen.
Mahamadou Sangare
Mahamadou Sangare has experienced a very sudden rise in England after joining on a free transfer from PSG‘s academy during the summer, and there is no way Guardiola hasn’t noticed him.
He already has nine goals and two assists across the Under-19s and Under-21s teams, but given that the centre-forward has yet to make his debut, the Carabao Cup could be the perfect opportunity.
Supporters would get on the edge of their seats for this player, so it would be incredible to see him given a chance in the quarter-finals of a cup competition.