Manchester City’s quest to regain the Carabao Cup begins away at League One Huddersfield Town on Wednesday night.
The Cityzens enter this cup tie off the back of their first three-game week of the season, which concluded with a 1–1 draw away at Arsenal on Sunday afternoon. Pep Guardiola’s side had previously downed Manchester United and Napoli.
The manager’s ideological U-turn at the Emirates was indicative of the fatigue currently prevailing through his squad at this early juncture, so he’ll be keen to offer some of his stars respite before they take on Burnley at the weekend.
City were once an unbeatable force in this competition, lifting the trophy four times between 2018 and 2021, but they haven’t triumphed since.
Their upcoming opponents, Huddersfield, are now led by former Man Utd goalkeeper Lee Grant. His first managerial role has started promisingly in Yorkshire, with the Terriers sitting fifth in League One after nine games. They’ve also beaten teams in divisions above, including Premier League Sunderland, to reach the third round of this competition.
Here is Sports Illustrated’s guide to Wednesday’s Carabao Cup clash.
What Time Does Huddersfield vs. Man City Kick Off?
- Location: Huddersfield, England
- Stadium: Accu Stadium
- Date: Wednesday, Sept. 24
- Kick-off Time: 7.45 p.m. BST / 2.45 p.m. ET / 11.45 a.m. PT
- Referee: Michael Salisbury
Huddersfield vs. Man City Head-to-Head Record (Last Five Games)
- Huddersfield: 0 wins
- Man City: 4 wins
- Draws: 1
- Last meeting: Man City 5–0 Huddersfield (Jan. 7, 2024) - FA Cup
Current Form (All Competitions)
How to Watch Huddersfield vs. Man City on TV, Live Stream
Huddersfield Team News
Grant’s side have overcome a couple of notable obstacles so far in this competition, and the new manager shouldn’t change too much on the personnel front from their victories over Leicester City and Sunderland in previous rounds.
However, the hosts are without injured trio Herbie Kane, Lynden Gooch and Jack Whatmough on Wednesday night.
Two of their Carabao Cup goalscorers so far, David Vost and Chelsea loanee Leo Castledine, are sure bets to be included in Grant’s starting XI.
Huddersfield Predicted Lineup vs. Man City
Huddersfield predicted lineup vs. Man City (4-2-3-1): Nicholls; Sørensen, Feeney, Wallace, Roughan; Vost, Kasumu; Charles, Castledine, Alves; Taylor
Man City Team News
After their three-game slog last week, Guardiola will be keen to offer some of his cornerstone players a rest in midweek. The likes of Erling Haaland, Jérémy Doku, Bernardo Silva and Rúben Dias are all unlikely to start on Wednesday night.
In Omar Marmoush’s continued absence, Oscar Bobb or Phil Foden could be used as a false nine in Haaland’s place, while Savinho should make his first start of the season. Youngsters Divine Mukasa and Reigan Heskey are also names to look out for here.
Defenders Abdukodir Khusanov and Nico O’Reilly picked up knocks at the weekend and probably won’t be risked, while City are also still without Mateo Kovačić, Rayan Cherki and Rayan Aït-Nouri through injury.
Man City Predicted Lineup vs. Huddersfield
Man City predicted lineup vs. Huddersfield (4-1-4-1): Trafford; Nunes, Stones, Mfuni, Aké; Nico; Bobb, Lewis, Reijnders, Savinho; Foden.
Huddersfield vs. Man City Score Prediction
City have pretty much sacrificed their progress in this competition to prioritise loftier goals in recent years, but Guardiola’s side should have enough to overcome League One opposition on Wednesday.
Haaland’s likely absence means the visitors may not blow their opponents out of the water, however, and the manager’s switch to a mightily defensive system in the second half of Sunday’s draw points towards a man who doesn’t quite yet know how to maximise this iteration of the Sky Blues.
This may be a tighter cup tie than you might expect, but Guardiola’s side will ultimately avoid an upset.
Prediction: Huddersfield 1–2 Man City
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Huddersfield vs. Man City: Preview, Predictions and Lineups.