City edged into the last 16 of this season’s edition thanks to first-half goals from Jeremy Doku and Matheus Nunes, his first for the club, in a 2-1 win against Championship side Watford.
Only Doku and Kyle Walker kept their starting places for a game that began less than 50 hours after the enthralling 2-2 Premier League draw with Arsenal had ended.
With a league game at Newcastle on Saturday lunchtime (12:30 BST), and a Wednesday tie ruled out on police grounds as Manchester United are playing at home to FC Twente in the Europa League, Guardiola opted for a quick turnaround from Sunday rather than the alternatives of switching the game to Watford or playing on Thursday.
“The next round, I announce you, I play the second team,” said Guardiola. “We are not going to waste energy, for sure.”
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