Brendan expects a ‘top-class’ City test
Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers maintains whatever side Manchester City are able to field will be one to test his own team’s Premier League credentials.
City boss Pep Guardiola has seen his options depleted, with only 13 fit senior players available.
Ilkay Gundogan is self-isolating after contracting coronavirus, while the likes of Sergio Aguero, Bernardo Silva, Joao Cancelo and Oleksandr Zinchenko are all recovering from injury, with Gabriel Jesus the latest injury casualty.
Guardiola gave some of the club’s academy starlets a chance to impress in Thursday’s 2-1 League Cup victory over Bournemouth.
Teenage forward Liam Delap – son of former Stoke midfielder Rory – marked his debut with a fine strike, while Taylor Harwood-bellis and Tommy Doyle also caught the eye.
With Phil Foden already starring for senior side, Rodgers expects the next crop of City talent to be ready to make a similar impact.
“With the players he does have available and the young players, they will all have enough motivation and quality to want to get a result,” said Rodgers.
“All of the teams are still searching for your level of fitness, having only had a few games.
“You are working with the players you have and will always be looking to go out to get a good performance and result.
“They are a top-level side and whatever happens, they are still topclass. We are playing against one of the top teams in Europe. It is a difficult game for us.”
Leicester’s much-changed side were beaten at home in the League Cup by Arsenal in midweek, which ended their perfect start to the new campaign.
Rodgers is expecting a response against City, regardless of the calibre of the opposition.
“This is a different test for us and a different challenge,” he said. “We have to go and show our own qualities.
“We have a respect for the likes of Manchester City, but we cannot play with any fear, that is always what is important.”
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola admits the demands on modern players make injuries inevitable.
He thinks the schedule was tough enough even before the coronavirus pandemic forced a major reorganisation – and condensing – of the footballing calendar this year.
Guardiola feels the whole game asks a lot of elite players, who are also in demand from their international teams.
“It is not just Manchester City,” said the City boss. “It is all the clubs and countries. I said many times, nobody cares for the players.
“It is a business, we are part of it and we want to do as good as possible for the people watching at home.
“For a long time, players have one or two weeks pre-season and then have to play every three days for 11 months. Now it is like this.
“I understand now it is an exceptional situation for everyone – restaurants, cinemas, theatres, museums, shopping – everything is exceptional and everyone is struggling.
“Everybody understands the situation, but even without the situation it is the same. But it is what it is. We had three players come back from the national team injured. We cannot control this.
“They let them play two games in three or four days without preparation, but players are not machines.
“We demand a lot and sometimes the muscles or whatever fall down. Hopefully sooner or later they are going to come back.”
Guardiola has confirmed he expects to be without striker Jesus for a month, adding to his front line problems with record goalscorer Aguero potentially out for up to another two months following knee surgery in June.
Jesus suffered a muscular problem in Monday’s season-opening victory at Wolves, a match in which he played the full 90 minutes and scored in the latter stages.
Guardiola said: “Sergio still hasn’t trained and Gabriel was injured against Wolves, so he will be out for one month.”
Guardiola could play Raheem Sterling or Kevin De Bruyne in a central role as Leicester visit in the Premier League on Sunday, although 17-year-old striker Liam Delap could be an option.
Delap scored a fine goal on debut against Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup in midweek and Guardiola has said he will need to use Academy youngsters to make up the numbers in his squad. The City manager has claimed he only has 13 fit senior players.
He said: “We don’t have Sergio, we don’t have Gabriel. We have Liam.
“We have many options. Cole Palmer can play as a striker too. We will see.”