Share By Stuart Brennan Simon Bajkowski Joe Bray 06:00, 4 MAR 2020 Sport Phil Foden of Manchester City. (Image: Photo by Alex Livesey - Danehouse/Getty Images) Pep Guardiola has a dilemma to solve as he takes his Manchester City side to Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup.
Having led his team to wins against Real Madrid and Aston Villa that could have saved their season, Guardiola must decide whether to go strong at the Championship side, or rest some of his players for the Premier League trip to face Manchester United at the weekend.
Guardiola made eight changes at Wembley at the weekend, handing starts to the likes of Phil Foden, John Stones and Claudio Bravo.
Joao Cancelo did not appear to travel to Wembley, but has trained since, while youngster Taylor Harwood-Bellis has been used in the competition already this season. However, with City U18s in the FA Youth Cup on the same evening, he may be preferred for that tie.
Pep Guardiola confirmed that Leroy Sane, who made his first appearance since August on Friday for the U23s at Arsenal, will not play in South Yorkshire.
Read More Related Articles Pep Guardiola gives Man City injury update on Leroy Sane and Sergio Aguero Read More Related Articles Rodri tells Man City how to build on Real Madrid and Aston Villa wins Read how our writers think City should line up at Hillsborough and pick your own starting XI using the widget below:
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Joe Bray
We know Claudio Bravo will start, but the rest of the starting XI shows the balance guardiola must find between rotation and still fielding a strong enough side to win.
Phil Foden deserves another chance to impress after his final display on Sunday, while Eric Garcia should come in to rest the legs of Fernandinho. I'd persist with John Stones, too. He's a confidence player and dropping him again after another mistake could do more harm than good, especially against opposition from a league below.
Kevin de Bruyne will be one of the first names on the teamsheet at Old Trafford this weekend, but I'd start him here with the intention of winning the game early and taking him off in the second half.
Stuart Brennan
This game is wedged firmly in the middle of big games at Real Madrid, Wembley and Manchester United - so rotation is a necessity.
That means a run-out for Joao Cancelo, while Phil Foden and Claudio Bravo will also keep their places as cup specialists, an John Stones should be given a chance to make amends for his Wembey slip.
Guardiola has indicated he will take it seriously, and that could mean Kevin De Bruyne starting - but he has a host of big names who can easily step in.
Riyad Mahrez, Gabriel Jesus, Nicolas Otamendi and Eric Garcia are all in line for a game.
Simon Bajkowski
Guardiola changed most of his team for Wembley and you can expect more rotation at Hillsborough simply because he has the squad to rotate.
Riyad Mahrez, Bernardo Silva, and Gabriel Jesus can make a completely new attack, although Bernardo could switch positions with Phil Foden either permanently or just during the game depending on how the play is going.
Joao Cancelo must surely start if he has any future at City while Eric Garcia is too good to miss another game; John Stones also needs game time and Benjamin Mendy can also come back in after sitting out the cup final.
