'Doubts' - Man City could have more players out vs Spurs as injury crisis bites

Pep Guardiola will refuse to take any unnecessary risks with his players' fitness at Tottenham this week - even if it means Manchester City have less chance of progression in the Carabao Cup.

City beat Sparta Prague and Southampton this week without six first team players as their injury crisis continues to bite. Kyle Walker and Kevin De Bruyne are out without a set return date, while Jack Grealish could be back next week. Jeremy Doku will be out until after the November international break, with Rodri and Oscar Bobb long-term absentees.

That leaves Guardiola with just 15 fit outfield players to pick from - including fringe options James McAtee and Nico O'Reilly. With Southampton restricting City to a 1-0 win, Guardiola's ability to rotate in the second half was tempered, so the manager has vowed to rest any player who needs it against Tottenham in the Carabao Cup.

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Guardiola previously vowed to play the 'second team' for the trip to Spurs in the fourth round, referring to the academy. And he repeated that intention after watching City edge past Southampton.

The under-21s play Grimsby in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday, needing a win to give themselves a good chance of qualification for the knockout stages. However, Guardiola's needs will take priority, so there is a good chance that a handful of academy players will travel to North London instead.

"We have to take care of ourselves. Good sleep, drinks, good food, sleep a lot, training and recovery," he said. "We are who we are. I would love to have everyone, it's not the position. We are few, few people. Okay. We have to do what we have do to. I don't know if I'm going to think against Spurs maybe some players from the academy. I don't know."

Guardiola insisted Tottenham is the lowest priority fixture of the four upcoming away trips in four days - with two long journeys in the Premier League sandwiching a Champions League clash in Portugal. With those in mind and so few options to pick from, Guardiola says no risks will be taken in the Carabao Cup.

He explained: "We are going there to compete but the main target is Bournemouth, Sporting and Brighton before the international break. We are not going to take a decision… if the players are fine they are going to play against Spurs but if they have doubts I'm not going to take a risk against Spurs, that's for sure."

The stance marks a clear contrast to his approach in the League Cup in his early years in charge of City, where he treated every round seriously in a bid to foster a winning mentality within his squad. The Blues won four consecutive titles in the competition, but have exited at the quarter-final stage or before in the last two seasons.

In the last round against Watford, Guardiola made a number of changes to give starts to fringe players, those returning from injury and he gave a debut to 16-year-old Kaden Braithwaite.