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Kevin Keegan recognises that Sunday's events won't have a bearing on tonight's, as Arsenal go to Manchester City to start the League Cup campaign. "If this was Premiership game then you could say that that defeat might make a difference", he says, although we feel that if the defeat makes any difference to the first team in their next Premiership game it will the kind of difference that Southampton won't be looking forward to at Highbury on Saturday!
But as Keegan rightly points out, the side that faces his men tonight will be full of youngsters lookign to make an impression, rather than old hands hoping to clear their possibly pre-occupied minds.
But Man City will be treating the game seriously, he says. "We'll play a couple of youngsters but we'll also have nine senior players out there".
The official VCity website says that those youngsters will be debutants Jonathan D'Laryea and Nedum Onuoha, both of whom have so far only appeared on the first team bench. 19 year old D'Laryea is a midfielder who's scored twice for the reserves, and Onuoha, also a teenager, is a defender who's been playing at right-back for the reserves but is expected to play in central defence tonight, possibly in place of Richard Dunne (who had a torrid time against us in the league last month.
Another youngster, Willo Flood, is expected to make his second start for City shirt after scoring his first goal on his home debut in the last round (a 7-1 win thrashing of Barnsley). Bradley Wright Phillips will be on the bench, and also on the Man City site Keegan
says that second choice keeper Ronald Waterreus will start, he also made his debut in the Barnsley tie). He's not a youngster at 34, but it still kind of undermines Keegan's suggestion that there'll only be a couple of unfamiliar faces on show. Perhaps all the rest will be familiar though. Long-standing Arsenal-tormentor Robbie Fowler will lead the line with Shaun Wright-Phillips. Fowler came on at the weekend for the second half of their dramatic 4-3 loss to Newcastle, following an injury to Nicolas Anelka. Before that, tonight's game had been earmarked for Fowler's return to action.
Danny Mills is relishing the chance to get back at Arsenal afetr having the piss taken a bit last year. But he won't be expecting to renew his acquaintance with tormentors-in-chief Henry and Pires. Gael Clichy is still out, but we can expect to see the likes of Justin Hoyte, and Phillipe Senderos in defence and Robin van Persie, Ryan Smith, Quincy Owusu Abeyie in attack. Jermaine Pennant will dountless get a chance to stretch his legs more than the occasional subs appearance has allowed of late, and we'll also get a chance to assess new reserve keeper Manuel Almunia.
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