Manchester City lock horns with Chelsea in the third round of the FA Cup on Sunday afternoon and Pep Guardiola is likely to ring the changes from the side that beat Chelsea in the Premier League on Thursday.
City have an EFL Cup clash with Southampton on January 11, so Pep will need to manage the minutes of his squad. This means out-of-favour players like Sergio Gomez might get a look in to allow senior teammates a rest.
The 22-year-old joined City on a four-year deal from RSC Anderlecht over the summer and has gone on to make 10 appearances in all competitions, amassing 476 minutes of playing time.
Gomez has started more games in the Champions League and EFL Cup than the Premier League as Guardiola still doesn’t trust him enough, so he’ll be desperate to get the nod against Chelsea.
Whether he starts remains to be seen, however, as Joao Cancelo is first-choice while Nathan Ake is second in the pecking order. Aymeric Laporte would also be considered over Gomez if he was fit, so the Spaniard might have to be patient.
Guardiola takes every competition seriously, so he won’t put a side out against Chelsea that he expects to lose.
In other news, Pep Guardiola relieved he didn’t sign Marc Cucurella after Thursday’s performance
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