Manchester City begin their defence of the Carabao Cup when they welcome Norwich City to the Etihad Stadium on Thursday night.
Enzo Maresca’s side have made an excellent start to the season. City have won all four of their Premier League games and also opened their Champions League campaign with victory at Porto.
They also come into this one after Sunday’s dramatic Manchester derby win. City played with 10 men for more than an hour but held on for a 1-0 victory over Manchester United.
Norwich arrive with less momentum. The Canaries have won three and lost four of their seven Championship games, with their latest outing ending in a 4-3 defeat at Middlesbrough.
City are expected to rotate heavily, but Norwich will still have to deal with a side packed with quality.
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What are the best picks for Manchester City vs Norwich?
Manchester City to win and over 3.5 goals
City should have too much quality for Norwich, even with Maresca expected to make a number of changes.
The hosts have scored 10 goals in their last five competitive matches, while Norwich have conceded 13 goals in seven Championship games. They also shipped four in their defeat at Middlesbrough last weekend.
There is also plenty of attacking talent likely to get an opportunity. Rayan Cherki, Iliman Ndiaye and Antoine Semenyo could all feature, while summer signings and academy players are expected to get minutes.
Norwich will want to make life difficult, but City should create enough chances to turn this into a comfortable evening.
Illiman Ndiaye to score or assist
Ndiaye is another player who could benefit from City’s rotation and should have plenty of opportunities to influence the game from an advanced position.
The Senegal international has the quality to cause Norwich problems, particularly if City dominate possession and pin the visitors back around their own penalty area.
With attacking players such as Cherki and Semenyo potentially alongside him, Ndiaye should have plenty of chances to get involved in the final third.
I like the score or assist market for this one.
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Manchester City to win both halves
City should have enough control to take the lead before half-time, while their bench could make the difference after the break.
Maresca has confirmed that several younger players will be involved, but the squad still contains plenty of senior quality.
The manager has also stressed that these players need opportunities because City will need them across multiple competitions.
Norwich will need to stay disciplined for 90 minutes. That is easier said than done at the Etihad.
Where can I watch Manchester City vs Norwich?
Manchester City vs Norwich kicks off at 7:30 pm BST on Thursday, September 17 at the Etihad Stadium.
The match will be shown live in the UK on Sky Sports and NOW TV.
What have the managers said?
Enzo Maresca
Maresca knows this is a game City cannot afford to become complacent in.
“Absolutely they are always tricky games.”
The City boss also confirmed that several academy players will be given an opportunity.
“They can work with us every day, they can improve, and at some point they can also get a chance to get some minutes.”
Maresca also confirmed that Phil Foden will miss the game through suspension, while Jeremy Doku is closing in on a return from injury.
Philippe Clement
Norwich boss Philippe Clement knows his side will need to approach the game differently to their usual Championship fixtures.
“The game will have a different philosophy for us compared to what we have in the league.”
Clement expects his players to spend plenty of time without the ball and believes they will need to adapt to City’s quality.
“They are one of the best teams in the world right now.”
He also compared the experience to facing Barcelona earlier in his playing career, explaining that these games can help players grow.
What is Manchester City’s predicted team?
(4-2-3-1) Rulli; Khusanov, Vitor Reis, Guéhi, Lewis; Kovacic, Bouaddi; Allan, Ndiaye, Ait-Nouri; Semenyo.
Injured: Jérémy Doku.
Suspended: Phil Foden.
City are expected to make significant changes, with Gerónimo Rulli potentially making his debut and youngsters Ryan McAidoo, Kaden Braithwaite and Floyd Samba also set to feature.
What is Norwich’s predicted team?
(4-2-3-1) Kovačević; Stacey, McConville, Córdoba, Chrisene; Wright, Mattsson; Maghoma, Schwartau, Musaba; Makama.
Injured: Lucien Mahovo, Ali Ahmed, Mirko Topić.
Norwich have several players unavailable, but Clement otherwise has a relatively healthy squad to choose from.
Score prediction: Manchester City 4-1 Norwich
City should rotate, but there is still a huge gap in quality between the two squads.
Norwich can cause problems going forward, particularly against a changed City defence. However, the hosts should create enough chances to win comfortably and progress to the fourth round.
The fact City have already scored 10 goals across their last five competitive matches makes another high-scoring night at the Etihad quite possible.
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