In Focus: Pep will need to Guard against FA Cup complacency

It is hard to believe that Manchester City have only won one FA Cup in the last decade — though that total could soon be set to double.

Pep Guardiola’s side visit Championship outfit Peterborough this evening looking to secure a spot in the quarter-finals and head to Cambridgeshire as red-hot favourites.

Their 2018-19 triumph — which included a record-equalling 6-0 win over Watford in the final — marked the last leg of an unprecedented domestic treble.

Three seasons on, could lifting the Cup again be the catalyst for another historic haul?

Mediocre record

With three Premier League titles and four Carabao Cups on his CV since arriving at the Etihad, Guardiola’s solitary FA Cup win does look rather underwhelming in comparison.

Even assessing their winning campaign in isolation, City were able to stroll to success without facing a team from inside the Premier League’s top half.

Watford, Burnley and Brighton were the only top-flight opposition they faced, while the lower-league trio of Rotherham, Swansea and Newport offered predictably little resistance.

Generally speaking, Guardiola’s men have come up short in the competition when drawn to face one of their fellow big sides.

Chelsea dumped them out at the semi-final stage last term, while Arsenal accounted for the Citizens in both 2016-17 and 2019-20.

Priorities

That loss to Thomas Tuchel’s Blues last term came after Guardiola made eight changes to his starting XI, prompting questions over where the competition ranked in his list of priorities.

However, the Spaniard was staunch in his defence when asked if he had paid enough attention to the tie.

Guardiola said: “When a team arrives in the final stages of all the competitions, when this team wins four finals in a row in the Carabao Cup, you can’t say that. Just say we lost the game.

“When you lose the game, the decisions are bad, but it is a poor argument my friends.

“These guys, for 10 or 11 months, fight every game like I’ve never seen before, but now we lose a game against a top side and now we don’t pay attention or respect this competition.

“We respect the FA Cup a lot. We came here to win.”

Sending a message

Ultimately, actions speak louder than words — and Guardiola’s first two team selections in this season’s competition have only backed up his comments.

City suffered a coronavirus outbreak prior to their third-round trip to Swindon which impacted 20 players and staff members in total, including the boss himself.

Yet the side sent to Wiltshire by the Spaniard was anything but weak. Ruben Dias, Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva all starred in a merciless 4-1 victory at the County Ground.

Then against Championship leaders Fulham in round four, youngsters Liam Delap and James McAtee did make late cameos from the bench — but only after a near full-strength first XI had put the tie to bed inside the opening 60 minutes.

Having watched his team fall 1-0 behind before coming back to win 4-1, Guardiola was full of praise for City’s second-tier opponents.

“We won against an incredibly tough team,” he said. “The quality of our players made the difference, especially in the second half, when we were much better.

“We adjusted our position in pressing after the first half. I made a mistake, it wasn’t good. They [Fulham] are a fantastic team.”

Derby dilemma

Clearly, Guardiola is keen for an FA Cup run this term — but tonight should give the biggest indicator yet of just how much he wants success.

A slip-up at Tottenham last month has brought Liverpool back into the Premier League title race, making victory in Sunday’s derby day clash with Manchester United more crucial than ever.

Only Zack Steffen (shouder) and Cole Palmer (foot) have been ruled out on medical grounds tonight, meaning the 51-year-old boss could easily rotate with one eye on the Red Devils.

Club legend Shaun Goater sees little value in resting too many big names for the trip to London Road, however.

Goater told City’s website: “Pep will put out a team that is still a strong team and that wants to advance.

“The best way to deal with the derby on Sunday is to win the game in front of you. You have to win this game first.”

Crunch time

Watching Jurgen Klopp lift the first trophy of the season last Sunday will have hurt Guardiola.

Given Liverpool enjoyed a faultless February, the pressure has reverted back onto City’s shoulders and there is minimal margin for error when competing against the relentless Reds on all fronts.

Following Carabao Cup final weekend in 2018-19, City would go on to win every remaining domestic match, sealing the league title by a single point and lifting football’s oldest trophy as a result.