Manchester City begin their Carabao Cup against Norwich City at the Etihad Stadium on Thursday evening. City are expected to rotate, but the strength of their squad and Norwich’s defensive problems point towards a comfortable home victory.

City have made a perfect start

Manchester City have won their opening five competitive matches under Enzo Maresca following their defeat against Arsenal in the Community Shield.

Their run includes four Premier League victories and a 2–0 win against Porto in the Champions League. City also showed another side of their game in the Manchester derby, protecting a 1–0 lead despite playing with ten men for more than an hour.

Maresca is expected to make several changes against Norwich. Gerónimo Rulli, Vitor Reis, Rico Lewis, Mateo Kovačić, Ayyoub Bouaddi, Allan and Iliman Ndiaye could all come into the starting lineup.

Even with rotation, City should have more than enough attacking quality to control the match. Erling Haaland could retain his place through the middle, while several academy players are also expected to be involved.

Norwich struggling defensively

Norwich have won three and lost four of their opening seven Championship matches, leaving them in the middle of the table.

The Canaries have scored regularly but have already conceded 13 league goals. Their latest appearance ended in a 4–3 defeat against Middlesbrough, continuing a pattern of open matches and defensive mistakes.

Philippe Clement’s side have beaten MK Dons and Cardiff to reach the third round, scoring six goals across the two matches. Thursday’s visit to the Etihad represents a considerable step up in quality.

Norwich have also struggled badly in their recent meetings with City. They lost the previous three encounters by a combined score of 14–0, including a 5–0 defeat on their last visit to the Etihad.

Verdict

Norwich have enough attacking quality to make the game interesting if City become careless, but their defensive record makes it difficult to see them staying competitive for 90 minutes.

City’s rotated lineup should still contain several established internationals and expensive summer signings. The hosts are likely to dominate possession and create chances throughout the match, particularly if they score early.

Norwich have conceded four goals in their latest match and 14 without reply across their previous three meetings with City. Manchester City to score over 3.5 goals is the strongest option.

Tip

Manchester City over 3.5 team goals