Guardiola scared for Thursday's game against Liverpool, Klopp provokes fear

With 14 players still out of the squad for Saturday's 2-0 friendly win over Girona because of World Cup action, Pep Guardiola says he does not yet know who will be available for Thursday's Carabao Cup last-16 tie with Liverpool. Erling Haaland, Riyad Mahrez and Cole Palmer were all part of the expedition that went to Abu Dhabi to train in warm weather along with Sergio Gomez, who says he is ready for the visit of Jurgen Klopp's side.

"The players who were in Abu Dhabi during the short pre-season had the opportunity to prepare for the upcoming games," he said. "For some other players there might be less time to prepare. We need all the players in our team and when they come back from the World Cup they feel strong and ready to play again. I feel ready to play and I hope to play an important role."

More Liverpool news:

allegedly desires to sign a second loan midfielder for Juventus

Klopp corrects his mistake and will send his worst player to La Liga in Spain

Liverpool will also suffer the effects of having had many players at the World Cup, but Mohammed Salah is among those who were not at the tournament after Egypt failed to qualify for the global showpiece. However, Gomez says City must concentrate on their strengths before worrying too much about their opponents.

"Liverpool have a lot of great players and we all know how strong they are. We know that if we win we are one step closer to achieving our goals in this competition." However, Mahrez wants the trophy and says the third-round win over Chelsea in November set them up for another tough challenge. "It's going to be a tough game, as always, against Liverpool," he said. "They are a very good team, but it's a good game to play back after the break."

Manchester City will have players in doubt

"We have to be ready to give our best. Hopefully we can play a good game and get through to the next round. We have won this competition three times since I joined the Club and it is always a great feeling to win at Wembley. In two of those seasons we also won the Premier League. City have won the Carabao Cup in four of the last five years and Liverpool won the trophy last season with a victory over Chelsea at Wembley. Thursday's clash will be the first of an intense period with eight games in the Carabao Cup, Premier League and FA Cup already scheduled before the end of January.