James Trafford among changes for Cup visit of Brentford
Guardiola has learned lesson from Leverkusen defeat
Pep Guardiola has indicated he will make changes for Manchester City’s Carabao Cup quarter-final against Brentford, but will include a “father figure” to avoid repeating the error of the defeat by Bayer Leverkusen last month.
Guardiola made 10 changes for the 2-0 Champions League group game loss at the Etihad Stadium, the first time he had done so in his career. Nico González was the sole player retained from the 2-1 defeat at Newcastle three days earlier. While Guardiola will start James Trafford in goal on Wednesday evening for the visit of Keith Andrews’ team, alongside players who did not feature in the 3-0 win at Crystal Palace on Sunday, and some from the academy, a senior player will be included to provide leadership.
“I know they [Brentford] are good, they are top, the problem against Leverkusen was not having a father figure on the pitch,” Guardiola said. “There are players where it is not about their quality; it is about how they lead and about being safe. Some players, because of age or the process are unable to say: ‘It doesn’t matter what happens’ [be brave]. But other players, they make their teammate think: ‘I am safe’ and will behave how they do.
