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Pep Guardiola says Manchester City have 13 fit senior players available for Leicester game

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Pep Guardiola cuts a frustrated figure on the sidelines as his City side are beaten
Image: Pep Guardiola already has a lengthy list of absentees at Manchester City

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola claims to have just 13 fit senior players available for Sunday's clash with Leicester.

City are less than a week into their new season but already have a lengthy list of absentees.

Guardiola turned to youth for Thursday's 2-1 Carabao Cup victory over Bournemouth and expects to have to call upon the club's academy resources again.

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One youngster who caught the eye against the Cherries was 17-year-old striker Liam Delap - son of former Stoke midfielder Rory - who opened the scoring with a fine strike from just inside the area.

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With Sergio Aguero possibly out for another two months as he recovers from knee surgery, Delap could see more action in the coming weeks.

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Highlights from the Carabao Cup match between Manchester City and Bournemouth

Guardiola said: "Well, the situation we have right now, we have just 13 players available in the first team. We need the academy, not just for the training sessions. They can be selected during the games.

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"With the problems we have up front, of course Liam will stay with us. We'll see if we need him or use him.

"But we cannot forget, like the same way we spoke about Phil Foden in previous seasons, he's just 17 years old. He has a lot of things to improve, steps need their own time."

Sergio Aguero
Image: Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero is possibly out for another two months

Guardiola revealed Nicolas Otamendi, who has been linked with a move to Porto, was not risked due to "niggles", while fellow defender Aymeric Laporte is still not yet match fit.

Laporte only returned to training last Friday after recovering from coronavirus and is also unlikely to feature in the home clash with the Foxes in the Premier League.

With the likes of Ilkay Gundogan, Bernardo Silva, Joao Cancelo and Oleksandr Zinchenko also out and others rested, Guardiola made eight changes against Bournemouth.

Delap and American goalkeeper Zack Steffen made their debuts, while there were opportunities for youngsters Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Tommy Doyle and Adrian Bernabe.

Bernabe's night turned sour when, he too, suffered an injury and was carried off before half-time.

Delap's strike got City off to a fine start with 18 minutes gone but Sky Bet Championship side Bournemouth responded well to level through Sam Surridge.

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Liam Delap - son of Rory - opened the scoring for Manchester City, now take a look at some of the goals his dad's throw created for Stoke!

It took another celebrated academy graduate, Foden, to settle the tie with 15 minutes remaining after Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling were summoned from the bench.

Foden tucked home neatly on the rebound after Riyad Mahrez hit the post.

But it was still Delap, who was booked late on after a bad challenge on goalkeeper Mark Travers, who stole the show.

"He is a different striker than we have in terms of physicality, but we see in training sessions how good a finisher he is," said Guardiola. "Now we are calm, still working, but we are delighted with his performance."

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