Overview
- Maresca confirmed on Tuesday that Erling Haaland, Elliot Anderson, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol were given three days off after the 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa.
- Geronimo Rulli will start in goal for Wednesday’s Carabao Cup fourth-round tie at the Etihad, kick-off 19:30 UK time and live on Sky Sports+.
- City are set to field a heavily rotated 4-2-3-1 that is expected to give minutes to youngsters and squad players including Floyd Samba, Ayyoub Bouaddi and Ryan McAidoo.
- Antoine Semenyo remains sidelined with a knee injury that is expected to keep him out for around eight weeks while Matheus Nunes is listed as doubtful for the cup tie.
- Maresca’s selection strategy is designed to preserve core starters for Saturday’s Premier League meeting with Brighton and to manage a congested fixture list that soon includes Champions League travel.