Manchester City have been been boosted ahead of their Carabao Cup semi-final game with Manchester United on the 7th of January.

The current English Premier League champions could start defenders, Nicolas Otamendi and Aymeric Laporte when they play against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Former Barcelona  manager, Pep Guardiola has confirmed to newsmen that  both Otamendi and Laporte have returned from injury and are likely to feature for the first team.

Pep Guardiola has this to say:

“It’s good [to have Laporte back in training],” Guardiola told the club’s official website on Monday.

“Everyone apart from Leroy is training. Nico is back. We have an almost full squad. It’s good.”

Pep Guardiola also added:

“It was important in the first season and the next two and this one. Nothing has changed.

“With that theory, in the seasons we won the Premier League, it wouldn’t matter. That’s not the case. It’s a game we want to play and do well.

“It’s a semi-final. When you play games against your opponent for many years sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. Against a top club like United, you can win and lose games.

“I didn’t expect when I arrived here that I would win all the time against Manchester United. We’ve beaten them more than we’ve lost, especially last season when we beat them all the time.

“The derby in Spain was Espanyol and Real Madrid and here United are the derby.

“The derby in the city is important for our fans, but the other top teams are important. I know exactly what it means to the fans.”

Manchester City last game saw them breeze through Port Vale in a 4 – 1 thriller in the FA Cup at the weekend, while Manchester United were held in a goalless draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.

The match will start by 9pm.

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