Pep Guardiola's Man City Plan B for Carabao Cup clash vs Newcastle isn't as simple as it sounds

Pep Guardiola joked that he may even be tempted to play himself when Manchester City travel to Newcastle on Wednesday, but he is more likely to look to the Academy for numbers in the Carabao Cup.

City will definitely be without Rodri (suspension), Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva (both injured), while John Stones is unlikely to be back from his own injury issues, and Mateo Kovacic will only have had three days of training after his setback. Similarly, Jack Grealish was back on Saturday as a late substitute but may not be ready to start.

Then, Guardiola suggested that Kyle Walker and Ruben Dias will be rested due to their recent workload, which would suggest someone like Erling Haaland - who has just missed 11 minutes of action for City so far this season - could also be in line for a night off. The only problem is, there are no obvious academy players ready to step up like in previous seasons.

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There are enough fringe players to put out a competitive starting XI, assuming the likes of Stefan Ortega, Nathan Ake, Rico Lewis, Sergio Gomez, and Kalvin Phillips can come in. Julian Alvarez could get the nod up top after being an effective number ten of late, while the returns of Kovacic and Grealish will help. Jeremy Doku was sacrificed after Rodri's red card vs Nottingham Forest so should be a little fitter than others.

Oscar Bobb will also hope to get a full debut for City after his promotion over the summer to the first team. A Carabao Cup third round clash, regardless of opponent, is one that should have his name