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Manchester City vs Norwich City Carabao Cup preview: Team news, possible line-ups
17th September, 2026 12:26 PM
Manchester City will begin their defence of the EFL Cup when they welcome Championship side Norwich City to the Etihad Stadium on Thursday evening, September 17, 2026.
The match comes at a time when City are enjoying an impressive run of form, having won their last five matches in all competitions following their Community Shield defeat to Arsenal.
Enzo Maresca’s team head into the contest after edging Manchester United 1-0 in Sunday’s derby. Erling Haaland scored the decisive goal in a match overshadowed by a contentious VAR decision surrounding the striker’s effort.
City have also made a strong start in the Premier League, collecting 12 points from their opening four matches. They subsequently opened their Champions League campaign with a 2-0 victory over Porto.
The reigning EFL Cup holders have considerable experience in this competition, having won the trophy nine times. Their most recent success came last season when they defeated Arsenal 2-0 in the final.
Norwich, meanwhile, arrive in Manchester looking to cause an upset. The Canaries have already negotiated two rounds of the competition, beating MK Dons 4-1 before overcoming Cardiff City 2-1.
Philippe Clement’s side have recorded four victories in their last six matches across all competitions, although their momentum was checked by a 4-3 Championship defeat against Middlesbrough in their most recent outing.
That result left Norwich 12th in the Championship with nine points from seven matches. They have won three league games and suffered four defeats so far this season.
History also favours the hosts. City and Norwich have met 72 times, with Manchester City claiming 39 victories, compared with 23 draws and 10 defeats. City have won each of the clubs’ last three meetings, scoring 14 goals without conceding.
The most recent encounter ended in a 4-0 City victory in the Premier League in February 2022.
Team news
Manchester City will be without Phil Foden, who is suspended after being sent off during the Manchester derby.
Jeremy Doku is also a major doubt because of a calf problem, with the winger unlikely to be risked in a cup fixture.
Maresca is expected to make several alterations to his starting XI, potentially handing debuts to goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli and Allan. Vitor Reis, Rico Lewis, Mateo Kovacic, Ayyoub Bouaddi and Iliman Ndiaye are also among those pushing for starting places.
Norwich have injury concerns of their own, with Gabriel Forsyth, Mirko Topic, Ali Ahmed and Lucien Mahovo all unavailable because of knee injuries.
Daniel Grimshaw is expected to start in goal for the visitors as he continues his involvement in this season’s EFL Cup.
Mohamed Toure has made an encouraging start to the campaign, scoring five goals in seven appearances, but Clement could opt to keep the forward among the substitutes.
Possible line-ups
Manchester City: Rulli; Khusanov, Reis, Guehi, Lewis; Kovacic, Bouaddi; Allan, Ndiaye, Semenyo; Haaland.
Norwich City: Grimshaw; Stacey, McConville, Cordoba, Chrisene; Wright, Mattsson; Maghoma, Schwartau, Musaba; Makama.
With City possessing the deeper squad and entering the game in considerably stronger form, Norwich face a difficult assignment at the Etihad. The visitors will need a major performance if they are to prevent the holders from advancing to the next round.
