Chris Sutton
Former Chelsea striker on BBC Radio 5 Live

It's one of those where it's about staying in the game. Interesting the way Man City have lined up. I think we both wondered who was going to start as that centre forward.

Allan is claiming for a foul wide on the right-hand side but the referee waves advantage.

The Brazilian quickly gets up and tracks back to do his defensive duties.

Shamoon Hafez
Football reporter at Etihad Stadium

Goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli, winger Allan and forward Floyd Samba are all making their Manchester City debuts tonight.

See how they get on and who can make themselves an instant fans' favourite.

Off we go at Etihad Stadium as holders Manchester City take on Norwich City.

Manchester City and Norwich City have not met since 2022, when the Canaries were last in the Premier League.

Then, Man City thrashed them 4-0 at Carrow Road having also thrashed them 5-0 at the Etihad earlier that season.

In fact, Norwich have lost their last three games against Man City by an aggregate score of 14-0.

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We know that Manchester City have quite the track record in this competition. They have won it nine times in total, including a spell of four consecutive triumphs from 2017-2021. That prompted many to suggest it was 'Man City's trophy'.

But last year's win - a 2-0 victory over Arsenal - had that bit of something extra special.

Although fans did not know it at the time, it would be Pep Guardiola's last season with the club. How fitting that he should go out by winning the trophy he has won more than any other manager (five times).

City of course went on to also win the FA Cup last year but the EFL Cup seemed extra special at the time, too, given it also ended Arsenal's hopes of winning a quadruple.

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A chance to shine for some of Manchester City's newest additions...

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Shamoon Hafez
BBC Sport Manchester City reporter

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Enzo Maresca's arrival at Manchester City began with the inevitable comparisons of when David Moyes replaced Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United in 2013.

The 46-year-old referenced Ferguson and Arsene Wenger in his unveiling news conference, saying clubs "struggled a little bit" after the departures of long-serving managers.

It's almost easy to forget City started this season with a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Arsenal in the Community Shield, but the side have bounced back in style with five straight victories, including the Champions League win at Porto.

While the Old Trafford job appeared to be too much for Moyes to handle, lasting only 10 months before being sacked, Maresca seems to be embracing the "challenge" and "privilege" of succeeding Guardiola.

Maresca acknowledged to reporters in pre-season that City's former boss would be referenced on a regular basis, but batted that particular narrative away by asserting "it doesn't put pressure on me".

The former Chelsea and Leicester City manager needed to hit the ground running at Etihad Stadium in order to avoid questions about whether he was the right man for the job having been the only person City targeted to take over.

City made major changes in the squad during the summer and the new-look side begin their Carabao Cup defence against Norwich at the Etihad tonight, followed by hosting Sunderland in the Premier League three days later.

Maresca dispatched rivals United on their own turf, and victory in the next two games will ensure a near-perfect start to his tenure in one of football's toughest jobs.

Read more about Maresca here.

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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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