Pep Guardiola names two debutants in strong Man City lineup against Leyton Orient | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola handed debuts to Nico Gonzalez and Vitor Reis in a relatively strong Manchester City starting XI for Saturday's FA Cup fourth-round tie against Leyton Orient.

A yawning 45 places may separate the two sides in the English football pyramid, but Guardiola was adamant that he would not underestimate the third-tier outfit. "Always we've had problems away in this competition to teams in the Championship or League One or even League Two," he fretted on Friday.

"Always we struggle. But we are ready for the challenge. Every game is a new opportunity."

While the Catalan coach was expected to name a highly inexperienced and youthful XI - similar to the one which racked up eight unanswered goals against Salford City in the third round - Guardiola started only one teenage academy graduate, the sought-after Nico O'Reilly.

There was another teenager in City's XI in the form of Brazilian centre-back Vitor Reis. The January recruit was left out of the club's Champions League squad for the knockout stages and has been an unused substitute in two Premier League games since he completed his £29.4m move last month.

However, the 19-year-old lined up alongside Ruben Dias - who was making his 200th club appearance - at the Gaughan Group Stadium (formerly known as Brisbane Road) this weekend.

There was also room in the XI for deadline-day arrival Nico Gonzalez. The £50m midfielder was hailed as "really important" by his new manager this week. "It's a position where we were weak after the absence of Rodri," Guardiola explained. "A young player, 23 years old, who can play number six and number eight and more in the pockets."

Jack Grealish also found his way into the starting XI. This represented the England international's first start since the third round - when he had a direct hand in three of City's eight goals.

Guardiola was forced to explain Grealish's limited opportunities this week, outlining: "I'm so sorry they doesn't get the minutes that maybe they deserve but at the end, the contributions from Jeremy [Doku] or Savinho have been massive this season. This is the only reason why. It's not personal, or I don't like Jack, or I don't have confidence in him."