Mendy Named in Man City Squad vs. Burton as He Returns From Injury
Manchester City defender Benjamin Mendy could make his return from injury on Wednesday, as he has been named in Pep Guardiola's squad for their Carabao Cup tie against Burton Albion.
Injuries have restricted Mendy to just nine Premier League appearances this season, and his last involvement was against Manchester United on 11 November.
Pep Guardiola confirmed at his pre-match press conference that Mendy would be in the squad that travels to the Pirelli Stadium tomorrow, though he was undecided as to whether the Frenchman would be in from the start.
"I miss him a lot," said the Spaniard, quoted by the Manchester Evening News. "He can give us extra in the last part of the season."
Fabian Delph, Aymeric Laporte and Oleksandr Zinchenko have all deputised at left back in Mendy's absence with varying degrees of success.
Guardiola confirmed that Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne would play against Burton, but hinted that they would find themselves with a number of unfamiliar teammates.
Asked whether Manchester City would field any youth team players, Guardiola said: "We are going to play a few and a few will be on the bench. Two, three or four will play, and two, three or four on the bench."
City hold a 9-0 lead from the first leg so this is an ideal opportunity for Guardiola to rest some key players ahead of the FA Cup tie against Burnley next Saturday.
"Some players need rhythm and are going to play," said Guardiola. "The guys with a lot of games in their legs are going to rest and do what they need to be fit for the next week."
City will face either Tottenham or Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final, with the second leg of that tie to be played on Thursday at Stamford Bridge.
