Pep Guardiola hinted that he is already thinking up “ridiculous” ideas for the Manchester derby as his team prepare for their league cup quarter-final at Southampton.
Pep Guardiola said: “I would say the game against Chelsea I made a lot of changes for one reason, how tired I saw some players after the game, for the trip we arrived too late and I saw the players tired in training and these ones that didn’t play against Chelsea. I would like to arrive against United with the average of minutes in the legs quite similar. I have a few ideas, thoughts – ridiculous ones – against United but I still didn’t watch the last games. I have to see the way they play at home and if they change something. I still have to review it. That is why I don’t have a clear line-up against United.”
Whether or not Guardiola was joking about his reputation for tinkering in big games, City do have recent history of success playing unorthodox formations at Old Trafford – most notably when they won in dominant fashion in the League Cup semi-final in 2020 playing with two false nines.
