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Article continues below<script type="application/json" data-placement="footballco-bet-betsense">{"type":"footballco-bet-betsense","data":{}}</script>Article continues belowArticle continues below<ul><li>City beat Watford 2-1 to progress to fourth round</li><li>Guardiola will not field his superstars in the next round</li><li>Will instead focus on the PL &amp; UCL</li></ul><a href="https://www.whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va2ivxLJJhzdzbJdwo0n">Follow GOAL on WhatsApp!</a> 🟢📱<script type="application/json" data-placement="fcplayer-semantic">{"type":"fcplayer-semantic","data":{"embedCode":"//cdn.fcp.codes/embed-code-template/embed-code-template.js#SEMANTIC_5704afb8-c10b-4ba5-9cb4-d7fb6098ef90"}}</script>

Pep Guardiola: Man City won't 'waste energy' on Carabao Cup amid congested schedule club 'cannot handle'

Champions League

Slovan Bratislava

Manchester City

Championship

Preston

Watford

The Spaniard made nine changes to the line-up that faced Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday and managed to eke out a <a href="https://www.goal.com/en/lists/manchester-city-player-ratings-vs-watford-phil-foden-jack-grealish/blt03ec6580261e2d58" target="_blank">narrow 2-1 win over Watford</a> in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday evening. While household names like Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Kyle Walker, and John Stones were handed starts, most of the other superstars were rested, including Erling Haaland, which allowed <a href="https://www.goal.com/en/lists/kaden-braithwaite-manchester-city-starlet-watford-carabao-cup/blt2be1b599b96ba54b" target="_blank">16-year-old left-back Kaden Braithwaite</a> and 19-year-old midfielder Nico O'Reilly to make their debuts.

WHAT HAPPENED?

Guardiola has announced that he will not risk fielding his strongest team in the fourth round either. He will be prioritising the Premier League and the Champions League and the fringe players will continue to be given opportunities to impress in the League Cup.

THE BIGGER PICTURE

After beating Watford, Guardiola told reporters: "The next round, I announce to you, I will play the second team. We are not going to waste energy, for sure. The schedule is the schedule, we cannot handle it anyway. Today for [James] McAtee, Matheus [Nunes], Jack [Grealish], Phil [Foden], who didn't play [against Arsenal], the young lad, 16 years old, it's perfect. That's why it's a good competition, otherwise, we wouldn't win four in a row."

WHAT GUARDIOLA SAID

City won the Carabao Cup on four successive occasions from 2018 to 2021, but this time around Guardiola has set this competition in the lowest rung of his priority list as he looks to defend the Premier League crown and win back the Champions League trophy from Real Madrid."We play to go through," he added. "We never throw a competition. Never. But we played 50 hours ago. I'm not going to [take] a risk with the Premier League and the Champions League in this competition."

DID YOU KNOW?

City have little time to recover as they will be back in action on Saturday against Newcastle United at Tyneside in a Premier League fixture.

WHAT NEXT FOR MANCHESTER CITY?

Pep Guardiola: Man City won't 'waste energy' on Carabao Cup amid congested schedule club 'cannot handle' | Goal.com UK

Pep Guardiola has insisted that Manchester City won&apos;t &quot;waste energy&quot; on the Carabao Cup amid a congested schedule that the club &quot;cannot handle&quot;.