Pep Guardiola often rings the changes for a domestic cup game, giving lesser-used first-team players an opportunity to prove their worth, but he has a difficult decision to make on Kalvin Phillips ahead of Friday evening’s FA Cup clash with Arsenal.
Manchester City are coming off the back of a 3-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday and Phillips came off the bench in the last quarter of the game to get some much-needed playing time. He replaced Rodri in midfield and saw a lot of the ball, but he gave away more fouls (3) in 14 minutes than any player on the pitch.
Phillips has made eight appearances in all competitions this season, amassing a paltry 165 minutes of playing time. The 27-year-old has endured an injury-hit debut campaign since joining over the summer from Leeds United, but Rodri has also kept him out of the side.
Phillips has played more football in the EFL Cup (103 mins) and FA Cup (32 mins) than in the league (18 mins) and Champions League (12 mins), so it’s possible he gets the nod from Guardiola. But with City’s last game coming five days ago and their next outing being nine days away, Rodri could afford to play without fears of burnout.
In other news, Man City outcast might be left out of FA Cup clash after Pep Guardiola treatment
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