Pep Guardiola rested key players, including Erling Haaland and Josko Gvardiol, for Manchester City's FA Cup match against Leyton Orient, confirming his focus on the upcoming Champions League clash against Real Madrid. The manager fielded a youthful team with debutants and opportunities for players under pressure, while prioritizing players likely to start against Real Madrid.
Pep Guardiola would never take lower league opposition lightly - but even the manager who takes one game at a time will admit that he had to prioritise Real Madrid this week.
Guardiola dropped three regulars completely in giving them the Saturday off, while four more key men were on the bench as the manager named a youthful squad with two debutants and chances handed to some under-fire players. The sight of Manu Akanji, Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden on the bench was a further indication of Guardiola's plans for Tuesday's huge showdown. He would have preferred not to play any at Orient but circumstances dictated that Bernardo, De Bruyne and Foden came off the bench. All three, plus Akanji, would still be favourites to start at the Etihad on Tuesday, leaving just four places up for grabs.
MANCHESTER CITY REAL MADRID FA CUP CHAMPIONS LEAGUE PEP GUARDIOLA
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