Man City boss Pep Guardiola plays down League Cup

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Pep Guardiola agrees with Jose Mourinho that the League Cup is a distraction
Mourinho has questioned impact on clubs despite lifting the trophy four times
Guardiola shared rival’s view after seeing City progress to the fourth round
Odds and tips for West Ham v Spurs and the rest of the Premier League

Published: 09:33 EDT, 22 September 2017 | Updated: 11:08 EDT, 22 September 2017

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Pep Guardiola agrees with Jose Mourinho that the League Cup has become an unwanted distraction, admitting that the Premier League’s top teams ‘waste a lot of energy’ on the competition.

Mourinho has questioned the impact that it has on clubs playing in Europe despite lifting the trophy for a fourth time in English football with Manchester United last season.

Guardiola shared his rival’s view after seeing Manchester City progress to the fourth round of the Carabao Cup at West Bromwich Albion in midweek ahead of their Premier League fixtures against Crystal Palace and Chelsea, and the Champions League tie with Shakhtar Donetsk.

Pep Guardiola agrees with Jose Mourinho that the League Cup is an unwanted distraction

Guardiola shared his rival’s view after seeing City progress to the fourth round at West Brom

Asked if his view was similar to Mourinho’s, Guardiola said: ‘Quite similar. So business is business. We have a lot of games. If you have to play in a competition you have to play in it. It’s good for the people you don’t use a lot.

'It’s a title and if you win it’s okay, but after that people don’t give you much credit. You don’t go to international competitions.

‘You waste a lot of energy. You can imagine going against a Tony Pulis team like West Brom and playing 90 minutes in those conditions.

Mourinho has questioned the impact on clubs despite lifting the trophy four times in England

'Three or four hours by bus, come back and then three days later Crystal Palace, then Shakhtar Donetsk then Stamford Bridge.

‘For the managers it’s a lot of wasted energy, but we knew that before so no complaints. If we have to play, we have to play.’

Guardiola confirmed that Ilkay Gundogan could return to training on Friday despite initial fears that the German midfielder had suffered another serious knee injury against West Brom. Vincent Kompany will also train ahead of a possible return.