Leyton Orient vs. Man City preview: “Big changes” predicted as Pep Guardiola tipped to experiment in “fascinating” FA Cup tie

Manchester City expert Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany has tipped Pep Guardiola to make “big changes” to his starting lineup for Saturday’s FA Cup fourth-round tie away against Leyton Orient.

The Citizens head to Brisbane Road for the lunchtime kickoff on the back of suffering a heavy 5-1 defeat at Arsenal in the Premier League, leaving them fifth in the table and two points behind the top four.

Guardiola’s side are in the midst of a challenging run of fixtures in multiple competitions, with a two-legged Champions League playoff tie with Real Madrid, as well as top-flight battles against Newcastle, Liverpool, Tottenham and Nottingham Forest, all taking place over the next three weeks.

Before welcoming Champions League holders Real Madrid to the Etihad for a first-leg showdown next Tuesday, Man City will endeavour to progress to the fifth round of the FA Cup by beating League One promotion hopefuls Leyton Orient.

McInerney is among many Citizens supporters who feels that Guardiola will look to rotate his side – as he did for the 8-0 demolition of Salford City in the third round – with one eye on next week’s important clash with Los Blancos, and he has discussed whether all four of City’s new signings could be involved on Saturday.

Man City announced the £50m arrival of midfielder Nico Gonzalez on deadline day and the 23-year-old could be ready to make his debut, while fellow new recruits Omar Marmoush, Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis – the former two have already made their debuts – are also in contention to feature.

Gonzalez, Reis to make Man City debuts? Haaland to be rested?

“I’m expecting lots of changes, lots of new lads,” McInerney told Sports Mole. “[Stefan] Ortega will probably be in goal. I think we’ll see Nico O’Reilly at left-back again. O’Reilly played there against Salford and sort of inverted and he was really impressive there, so I think he’ll get another start.

“I think we might see Vitor Reis and Khusanov get the nod actually. I think those guys might start at centre-back. Maybe Guardiola will be tempted by (starting) a senior player (at centre-back), but with Real Madrid around the corner. I just don’t see how he’s not going to make big changes.

“You’d be tempted to play maybe [Manuel] Akanji or [John] Stones – a bit more experience for one of the young lads – but City need them. They cannot risk an injury for either of those senior players, and then have to use one of the young lads, who’s not got experience yet, who’s just joined, against Real Madrid.

“So I do think there’s a scenario where you have Nico O’Reilly, Rico Lewis at right-back, and then the two new signings, Khusanov and Vitor Reis at centre-back.

“In midfield, I think Nico Gonzalez is almost certain to get some minutes there. I think he should, personally. If you’re Guardiola, I think you’ve got to play him, even if it’s just for 45 minutes or something like that. I think he gets a start.

“I think [James] McAtee will get a start as well. I think [Erling] Haaland will rest and Marmoush will play through the middle. I can see that. Potentially Savinho will get a start and maybe Jack Grealish gets a game as well, because he’s not been playing much recently. Oscar Bobb might actually be back which would be wonderful.

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“It could be one of the most fascinating City games in a long time”

“So Grealish on the left, Oscar Bobb on the right, Marmoush through the middle, then McAtee, Nico Gonzalez, and then maybe Ilkay Gundogan (in midfield), something like that. I would love to see that. A lot of changes, all the new lads, some returning players, some of the young lads too.”

McInerney added: “That’d be a really sensible team, more than enough to beat Leyton Orient, with all due respect to them. It should be enough with this quality there, but also embedding some of these young lads and these new signings into the team. So I can’t wait for it, actually.

“I think it could be one of the most fascinating City games in a long time. Having Nico O’Reilly play, having the four new signings on the pitch, having Oscar Bobb return as well, and a couple of other academy lads on the pitch – it could be a really wild game, a combination of new signings and academy players, with one or two veterans in there.

“You just never see games like that, because you rarely see four new signings at once, so I’m hoping we see that, because I think it’d be fascinating.”

Divin Mubama, who started and scored his first City goal in the previous round against Salford, is also in contention to feature, although McInerney has explained why Guardiola might instead be “tempted” to see how Marmoush plays as a central striker without the presence of Haaland.

Meanwhile, McInerney has shared his thoughts on whether Kevin De Bruyne will feature more heavily against either Leyton Orient or Real Madrid after starting as a substitute in the previous two Premier League games, and why winning the FA Cup could become a “necessity” for Guardiola’s side this season.

Press play on the video at the top of this article to hear the full discussion ahead of Man City’s FA Cup trip to Leyton Orient.

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