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Manchester City boss Enzo Maresca says he expects a "tricky game" against Championship side Norwich in the Carabao Cup this evening.

"We prepare all the games trying to win and trying to compete to win the competition," he said. "Then, at the end, we see if we are able to win or not.

"For sure, the game will be a tricky game because the one-off games are the difficult ones. We are going to try to win the game and then we will see."

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On the subject of VAR, some of you may be relieved (or not) to hear that it's not in operation tonight.

VAR doesn't usually come into play until later in the EFL Cup.

There has been a lot of noise around Manchester City this week with Sunday's VAR error continuing to make headlines.

Enzo Maresca was keen to move on from the subject in his press conference on Wednesday. But, he did still get in a little dig at a VAR mistake that went against them in the Manchester derby a couple of years ago.

In 2023, Marcus Rashford was in a similar situation - in an offside position and interfering with play - when Bruno Fernandes scored. Maresca said his side have still received no apology for that error.

Eek.

Shamoon Hafez
Football reporter at Etihad Stadium

Manchester City are giving a debut to academy product Floyd Samba tonight, the latest youth team star to graduate into the first-team.

Samba joined the club's academy at Under-nine level and shone in his first full season in the U18s last season.

He was one of the standout players, providing 34 goals or assists in 38 games, including a sensational 25-yard free-kick to help City win the FA Youth Cup final against rivals Manchester United.

At 17 years old, Floyd is the younger of the two Samba brothers at City, with Tyrone being the other.

Samba, though, will be most famously known for being the son of former Premier League defender Chris.

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True to his word, Enzo Maresca has handed Geronimo Rulli his first competitive appearance for the club since signing from Marseille in the summer.

And Erling Haaland is one of the first-team players given a rest after a gruelling week which involved wins in the Champions League at Porto and at Manchester United in the Premier League.

"Erling is one of the players that played 90 minutes back-to-back against Porto and Manchester United. He is not the only one," added Maresca.

"I think we have six or seven players who have played 90, 90. Some of them, not all of them, will probably need some rest."

And if you fancy a reminder of all the fourth-round fixtures we've got to look forward to, here you go:

• Fleetwood Town v Arsenal
• Manchester City/Norwich v Brighton
• Everton v Newcastle
• Sunderland v Brentford
• Liverpool v Chelsea
• Bradford v Peterborough
• Fulham v Crystal Palace
• Bournemouth v Aston Villa

The matches will be played in the week commencing 26 October.

Brighton & Hove Albion await the winner of this tie after they beat Manchester United in the third round at Old Trafford last night.

If Manchester City progress this evening, can the Seagulls knock out both Manchester clubs?

It will certainly be a tough fourth-round game.

Still no sign of Jeremy Doku for Manchester City.

Enzo Maresca said earlier this week the winger "is quite close" to a return from injury, which they "are happy" about.

Some of the big hitters are on the bench - Enzo Fernandez, Elliot Anderson and Antoine Semenyo - but no sign of some of the more familiar faces like Erling Haaland.

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Shamoon Hafez
Football reporter at Etihad Stadium

Manager Enzo Maresca has made 10 changes for Manchester City as the holders begin the defence of their Carabao Cup crown at Etihad Stadium tonight.

Rayan Cherki played 45 minutes in the victory at Manchester United on Sunday and it looks like the Frenchman is playing in false nine role.

Academy star Floyd Samba, son of former Blackburn and QPR defender Chris, makes his senior debut. Meanwhile, Argentina goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli and Brazilian winger Allan also make their first City appearances.

Man City XI: Rulli, Lewis, Khusanov, Reis, O'Reilly, Bouaddi, Kovacic, Samba, Allan, Ait-Nouri, Cherki.

Championship side Norwich City make nine changes to the side that were beaten 4-3 against Middlesbrough at the weekend.

Kellen Fisher and Anis Ben Slimane are the only survivors from that thriller at the Riverside Stadium. Harry Darling takes the captain's armband.

Norwich XI: Grimshaw, Fisher, Alves, Darling, Yongwa, Wright, Field, Crnac, Slimane, Diallo, Kvistgaarden.

Enzo Maresca said after the Manchester derby he would likely rest some players, let's get that all-important team news...

Just the one EFL Cup match this evening and it's the final one in the third round of fixtures which yes, has been going on for quite some time (since Tuesday 8 September).

Finally, EFL Cup holders Manchester City enter the chat.

They take on Championship side Norwich City, who currently sit mid table in English football's second tier with a mixed bag of results - three wins and three losses.

Can the Canaries cause an upset at the Etihad? Or will it be a winning start to the title defence for Enzo Maresca's side?

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One final EFL Cup third-round match to go...

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