Manchester City begin the defence of their Carabao Cup title at home to Norwich City on Thursday, 17 September, with a much-changed team. Enzo Maresca, in his first season as City manager, has picked goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli and forward Allan for their first appearances since joining the club, and left Erling Haaland out of the squad. Phil Foden is suspended. Kick-off at the Etihad Stadium is 19:30 BST, and the tie is being shown in the United Kingdom on Sky Sports+.
What happened
The Carabao Cup, also known as the EFL Cup or League Cup, is the knockout competition for clubs in England's top four divisions. Premier League clubs playing in Europe, City among them, join at the third round. Norwich City, who play in the Championship, the division below the Premier League, have already come through two rounds: they beat MK Dons 4-1 at home on 8 August and won 2-1 at Cardiff City on 25 August.
City's line-up, published before kick-off, has Rulli in goal in place of Gianluigi Donnarumma, who drops to the bench. Allan starts, as does the teenage midfielder Floyd Samba, alongside Ayyoub Bouaddi, Mateo Kovacic, Rayan Cherki and Rayan Ait-Nouri. Rico Lewis, Abdukodir Khusanov, Vitor Reis and Nico O'Reilly make up the back four. Marc Guehi, Iliman Ndiaye, Enzo Fernandez, Matheus Nunes and Antoine Semenyo are among the substitutes.
Foden is serving the first game of a three-match domestic ban after being sent off in City's 1-0 win at Manchester United on Sunday. Jeremy Doku has been carrying a calf problem and was not expected to start.
Norwich, coached by the Belgian Philippe Clement, name Daniel Grimshaw in goal behind a defence of Kellen Fisher, Harry Darling, Bruno Alves and Darlin Yongwa. Jacob Wright, who came through City's academy and left the club in early 2025, starts in midfield with Sam Field, and Mathias Kvistgaarden leads the attack. Ali Ahmed, Gabriel Forsyth, Mirko Topic and Lucien Mahovo are all out injured.
Why it matters
City hold the trophy. They beat Arsenal at Wembley on 22 March to win the League Cup for the ninth time, and this is the first time they have played in the competition since. It is also Maresca's first Carabao Cup match in charge: he was appointed on 29 June on a three-year contract, taking over from Pep Guardiola, who stepped down in May.
The searches around this fixture are mostly about how much City would change. Maresca has rested several players who have started regularly, and City came into the game having won five competitive matches in a row.
Norwich have had an uneven start to the Championship season, with three wins and four defeats from seven games, most recently a 4-3 loss away to Middlesbrough on 12 September. Sports Illustrated reports that they have yet to keep a clean sheet in any competition this season.
Nedum Onuoha, who played for City, discussed the tie on BBC Radio Norfolk's podcast The Scrimmage and said Norwich's attacking players give them something to work with, while making clear he expected the night to be hard.
"They're always going to be in with a chance - but I think it's going to be very difficult." - Nedum Onuoha, on BBC Radio Norfolk's The Scrimmage
What happens next
The fourth-round draw has already been made, so the winners know where they go next: a home tie against Brighton and Hove Albion, to be played in the week of 26 October. The Carabao Cup is a straight knockout with no replays at this stage.
For City, the tie is squeezed into a short week: they are back in the Premier League against Sunderland on Sunday, which is one reason Maresca rested so many players. Norwich return to Championship football, where they sit in the bottom half after seven matches.
