Pep Guardiola has hinted that he may rest Erling Haaland after being impressed by Omar Marmoush's impact against Brentford. Marmoush came off the bench and scored in the 3-0 win over the Bees on Saturday, giving his manager something to consider heading into their Premier League game against Crystal Palace on Wednesday.
Haaland has started 33 of City's 35 league matches this season, scoring 26 times, including against Brentford. But with City facing a pile-up of fixtures, the Norwegian goal machine may have to start on the bench.
City have three Premier League games and the FA Cup final packed into two weeks after their game in-hand against Palace was finally rescheduled. They host Palace on Wednesday, then face Chelsea in the FA Cup final on Saturday and finish their league campaign with games against Bournemouth and Aston Villa.
Guardiola was happy with the impact made by Marmoush, Phil Foden and Savinho against Brentford and is tempted to freshen up his side on Wednesday.
Asked if the impact of the substitutes could change his starting XI in upcoming matches, Guardiola said: "Yeah, especially Omar. It's not easy because normally we play with just one striker. He's a proper striker and Erling is there. Erling is so important for us. But the contribution of Omar, always he plays the amount of goals. And the rate for the minutes played is so high. So it's really good. We talked many times.
"I know it's not easy for them, but I'm pretty sure the next games they're going to play. I want to rotate the team. Because otherwise we cannot arrive in the final or Bournemouth a little bit... We'll see the result tomorrow and after we take our decisions."
That result saw Arsenal beat West Ham 1-0 on Sunday, putting them in pole position for the Premier League title. The Gunners lead City by five points, meaning Mikel Arteta's side will lift the trophy if they win their final two games against Burnley and Palace.
Guardiola has been vocal in complaining about City's tough finish to the season, but says his side have no option but to embrace it. "We don't know about the generosity for the Premier League as always," he said. "So it has been really nice for this schedule. But it's what it is. It's what it is, we accept. I always have said, don't play the final in FA Cup, you won't have this schedule.
"We are in the final, you have this schedule. And I would love to have the schedule in the semi-final of the Champions League in the middle of the title race. We were there. When we won the treble, we were there in that dynamic. So it's really nice.
"As much as you have fit [players], we have. With energy, it's easy to say, OK, make the substitution, one minute, Jeremy, put the ball in the net. But we want energy and Omar gives us energy. And Phil gives us that, you know that? And you need everyone. So as much as you have fit [players], you can do it because we did it. And like we did it, we can do it."
