Roberto Mancini will shuffle his pack in midweek, in a bid to keep Manchester City players fresh. The Italian is aware that his squad, although packed with world-class talent, will be pushed to its limit over the course of a long, hard season.
Mancini will implement such a policy in Wednesday's Carling Cup clash with West Brom, with a number of those on the fringes of the first-team set for a midweek run-out.
The City boss insists he will be taking every competition the club enter as seriously as possible, but insists he cannot be expected to field his strongest side in every game.
"Every game is important for us this season and it is important the players understand the situation," said Mancini.
"We can't leave one competition. We must play at 100 per cent in every competition and that means in the Carling Cup we must change some players - because we can't play every two days."
Mancini also hopes that by chopping and changing his team he can instil a renewed sense of belief in his players.
Mancini added: "If we want to win something we must understand that we can also play without Carlos and Yaya. They are fantastic players but we must also be a team when we are missing them.
"If we don't do that then we will not improve. At the moment we have a problem because we are missing four or five players but when all the players are back it is important we play some games without them."
