Five Man City youngsters who could play vs Huddersfield include two famous sons as Erling Haaland injured

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Pep Guardiola confirmed that he will offer the chance to some academy players to play in Manchester City’s Carabao Cup clash at Huddersfield on Wednesday.

City have come off the back of three huge clashes with Manchester United, Napoli and Arsenal, and will be without Erling Haaland for the trip to their League One opponents as Guardiola prioritises their Premier League and Champions League fixtures in the coming weeks.

“Tomorrow we are not going to play the same starting XI as the last three games, that’s for sure,” Guardiola said.

“So it’s a chance for Academy players to play. The priority is Burnley, Monaco and Brentford. It is what it is. We will try to compete and go through.”

That opens up the possibility of some new academy faces to represent City at the John Smith’s Stadium, particularly if they are left out of the U21 fixture at Bolton in the EFL Trophy 24 hours earlier.

Divine Mukasa

Included in the last three first team matchday squads and featuring for City in their only pre-season friendly at Palermo this summer, Divine Mukasa is on the fringes of Guardiola’s team.

Last season, he scored 17 goals and registered 25 assists for City’s academy, predominantly for the under-18s as they reached the FA Youth Cup final.

A confident number ten and capable of scoring spectacular goals, Mukasa has the mentality needed to play in Guardiola’s squad and the undoubted quality to play for City, so a competitive debut at Huddersfield feels like the natural next step.

Jaden Heskey

One of two Heskey brothers to represent City’s academy, midfielder Jaden has been training with Pep Guardiola’s first team this week which could see him handed a debut at Huddersfield.

Heskey featured in a youthful pre-season squad for the 2024 tour of the USA, coming off the bench against Barcelona that summer in Orlando.

Son of former Liverpool striker Emile, Jaden is a physical attacking midfielder who was a mainstay in City’s title-winning Premier League 2 campaign last season. The year before he scored in their FA Youth Cup final win and turned down a loan move away to take the captain’s armband for the under-21s this year.

Stephen Mfuni

Another talented youngster who has been named on the bench already this season, Mfuni is a classy centre-back capable of playing on the left and playing out from the back.

An FA Youth Cup final goalscorer in 2024, Mfuni then earned a place on Pep Guardiola’s pre-season tour squad and came on late in the final game of the summer to make his senior debut as a 16-year-old.

Last season, he featured across the under-18s, under-19s and under-21s, and he is now a familiar face in senior training. If he made a first competitive appearance this week, it would continue his rapid rise.

Reigan Heskey

Jaden’s younger brother is the second son of Emile on City’s books and has also been training with Guardiola’s first team this week.

The 17-year-old winger scored 27 goals last season and laid on nine assists, mostly for the under-18s but also including three goals for both the under-19s and under-21s.

A fast, skilful forward, Heskey already has three goals this term after a promotion to the under-21s full time, and could be an outside bet for inclusion against Huddersfield – although a starring role at Bolton in the EFL Trophy may offer him more minutes.

Justin Oboavwoduo

Striker Obavwoduo, 19, is already off the mark this season with two strikes in five, following on from a decent return of ten goals last term.

His goalscoring form was most evident in 2022/23 when he netted 21 times for the under-18s as they won the FA Youth Cup, and this should be the season he really kicks on.

With Haaland and Omar Marmoush out against Huddersfield to restrict Guardiola’s options, could Oboavwoduo get a senior call-up as the academy’s most experienced number nine?