Pep Guardiola would never take lower league opposition lightly - but even the manager who takes one game at a time will admit that he had to prioritise Real Madrid this week.
Manchester City go from facing League One promotion-chasers Leyton Orient to Champions League giants Real Madrid in the space of four days, and Guardiola's selection in the FA Cup made clear that Real were in his thinking.
Guardiola dropped three regulars completely in giving them the Saturday off, while four more key men were on the bench as the manager named a youthful squad with two debutants and chances handed to some under-fire players.
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Omar Marmoush, Nico Gonzalez and Vitor Reis started, with Jack Grealish, James McAtee, Rico Lewis and Ilkay Gundogan also involved. The Orient teamsheet showed Guardiola's priorities - confirming if it wasn't already obvious that Erling Haaland, Josko Gvardiol and Mateo Kovacic are in line to start against Real in the Champions League play-off on Tuesday. Gonzalez's debut injury further cements Kovacic's start against his former club.
The sight of Manu Akanji, Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden on the bench was a further indication of Guardiola's plans for Tuesday's huge showdown. He would have preferred not to play any at Orient but circumstances dictated that Bernardo, De Bruyne and Foden came off the bench. All three, plus Akanji, would still be favourites to start at the Etihad on Tuesday, leaving just four places up for grabs.
Stefan Ortega and Savinho started ahead of Ederson and Jeremy Doku, who missed previous games through injury, which could put their participation in the Champions League in doubt. The two wing spots can be competed for by a number of forwards including Marmoush, Bernardo, Foden, Grealish and Savinho if Doku isn't available.
Dias' return to the team at Orient boosts the defensive options, with Akanji holding a makeshift defence together in recent games while John Stones' fitness rollercoaster continued with a place on the bench in the cup after two successive starts - Guardiola confirming post-match that the plan was always to give Dias and Stones 45 minutes each.
The City chief must now decide which of the pair partners Akanji on Tuesday, or if all three start with one at right-back. Rico Lewis will hope his performance on Saturday earned a start against Real Madrid following eight successive games on the bench but he faces competition from Matheus Nunes.
