We had to wait a while, but we were rewarded with some drama at the end. Here’s the revised quarter-final draw ...
- Sheffield United v Arsenal
- Newcastle United v Manchester City
- Norwich City v Derby County or Manchester United
- Leicester City v Chelsea
... and here’s our man Tumaini Carayol’s take on events in N17 this evening. Thanks for reading this MBM-turned-Clockwatch. Nighty night!
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FULL TIME: Spurs 1-1 Norwich (Norwich win 3-2 on penalties)
Krul races the length of the pitch to celebrate with the Norwich faithful. They’ll host Derby County or Manchester United in the quarter finals! And it’s Champions League or bust for Jose Mourinho as he closes out his first season at Spurs.
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Penalties: Tottenham Hotspur 2-3 Norwich City. Gedson Fernandes stutters and bumbles a dreadful penalty towards the bottom right. Krul has time to put out a cigarette and fold his newspaper before throwing his cap on it. Norwich are in the quarters!
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Penalties: Tottenham Hotspur 2-3 Norwich City. Cantwell absolutely lashes a penalty into the top left. Spurs on the brink ... and in style.
Penalties: Tottenham Hotspur 2-2 Norwich City. Troy Parrott hits lamely towards the bottom right. Krul parries. Advantage Norwich!
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Penalties: Tottenham Hotspur 2-2 Norwich City. Stiepermann thrashes his spot kick into the bottom right. Vorm guessed well, but couldn’t get anywhere near.
Penalties: Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Norwich City. Lo Celso calmly passes one into the top left. Then not so calmly slips over. But it’s in!
Penalties: Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Norwich City. Young Adam Idah lashes a stunning penalty into the top right. Unstoppable!
Penalties: Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Norwich City. Erik Lamela misses, going for the top left but hitting the bar.
Penalties: Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Norwich City. Kenny McLean whips his to the right. Vorm guesses correctly and parries. First blood Spurs!
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Penalties: Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Norwich City. Dier fires into the bottom left. Krul guesses correctly but has no chance.
Spurs will be taking their penalties first. Eric Dier with the honour, and a huge roar of anticipation as he makes his way down the pitch. Here we go, then ...
While the teams prep their penalties, why not catch up on events at the King Power? Peter Lansley was there to witness Leicester edge past Birmingham and set up a quarter-final tie with Chelsea.
END OF EXTRA TIME: Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Norwich City
Some hectic end-to-end nonsense, as Oliver Skipp, then Josip Drmic attempt to break. Both lose control, and that’s the end of extra time. We’re going to penalties to find out who’ll host Derby County or Manchester United in the quarter finals!
ET 29: Cantwell is upended by Aurier, 35 yards from goal. Cantwell floats the free kick into the Spurs box. It’s easily cleared.
ET 28: Fernandes blazes over the bar from 20 yards. He’s not missed by much. As close as Spurs have come in extra time.
ET 27: Lamela nearly opens Norwich up down the right. Not quite. And so much for Mourinho’s studied cool: now he’s up, effin’ and jeffin’ at his players. One last push to avoid penalty kicks!
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ET 26: The tension at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is palpable. On the touchline, Jose Mourinho strikes a carefree pose. He’s kidding nobody.
ET 25: Lamela dribbles dangerously across the face of the Norwich box. He’s stripped of possession, but Idah’s clearance crashes into Lewis and nearly drops at the feet of the lesser-spotted Parrott. Krul snaffles on the penalty spot, just in time.
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ET 24: Lamela wafts a poor effort into the arms of Krul. Easy pickings for the keeper.
ET 23: Erik Lamela bustles down the right and wins a free kick off a desperate Lewis. This will be a free kick in a very dangerous position, just to the side of the Norwich box.
ET 21: Gedson Fernandes scurries down the inside-left channel and attempts to find Lo Celso in the middle. Alex Tettey does extremely well to intercept and clear.
ET 19: Giovani Lo Celso smacks a shot towards the bottom left from a tight angle. Tim Krul parries. Serge Aurier lashes the rebound over from the right-hand corner of the box.
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ET 17: Some good work by Jamal Lewis down the Norwich left. He stands one up for Adam Idah at the far post. Idah should do better with his off-target header.
It’s half time in extra time at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. It’s still 1-1. We might as well join that, no? A little bonus MBM action. Before that, here’s Jamie Jackson’s verdict on Manchester City’s win over Sheffield Wednesday.
Pep’s version of events. “We didn’t concede one shot on target. We were incredibly solid. It was tough, they had ten players there. It was a tough week for us, but the players were ready to fight. We knew if we conceded a lot of chances we would be in trouble. That means a lot. We are playing with more and more quality.”
The quarter-final draw …
… made by Martin Keown and Chris Waddle.
- Sheffield United v Arsenal
- Newcastle United v Manchester City
- Tottenham Hotspur or Norwich City v Derby County or Manchester United
- Leicester City v Chelsea
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Elsewhere, Leicester have beaten Birmingham 1-0. The Foxes continue to hunt for their first-ever FA Cup. The Spurs-Norwich tie has ended 1-1 and is now in extra time. More on that when we have it. But in the meantime, stay with us for the quarter-final draw, which will be coming up soon.
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Pep Guardiola theatrically lectures a couple of his players as the teams head off down the tunnel. City weren’t at their best, but they were still far too good for Wednesday. Their margin of victory should have been much larger than one goal; they were uncharacteristically wasteful front. But in the FA Cup, a win’s a win’s a win, as Riyad Mahrez explains: “It was tough, we knew it was going to be tough. Sometimes you have to take the win like this, and we are happy to go through. We had to pass the ball between the lines and move a bit. But we knew we would create chances. We scored and we are happy. There is still a long way to go in the FA Cup, but we will try to win every game.”
FULL TIME: Sheffield Wednesday 0-1 Manchester City
The holders are through, despite missing several chances, Sergio Aguero their hero yet again. Wednesday’s 85-year wait for their fourth FA Cup will go on.
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90 min +2: Mahrez, Sterling and Jesus stream towards the Wednesday goal. Someone should score, it’s three on one, but they try to walk the ball into the net. Eventually Sterling slams his shot straight at Wildsmith. This should be over. It nearly is, but not quite.
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90 min: There will be three minutes of stoppage time.
88 min: Mahrez is booked for a saucy tug on Murphy, who was threatening to break down the right. One for the team.
87 min: Nothing comes of City’s corner. Elsewhere, Leicester have taken the lead late on against Birmingham, Ricardo Pereira scoring on 82 minutes, while Norwich have equalised at Spurs, Josip Drmic for the Canaries on 78 minutes.
86 min: Before the corner can be taken, Aguero is replaced by Raheem Sterling. As the striker leaves the pitch, he becomes the recipient of some industrial advice from his manager. Pep’s not happy with his team’s performance.
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85 min: Mahrez drifts down the left and chips into the mixer. The cross is too high for Jesus, allowing Lees to head out for a corner. Aguero was behind the Wednesday defender, waiting to slot home.
84 min: On the touchline, Pep is apoplectic. His charges, perhaps wary of what awaits them should they ship an equaliser, respond accordingly, re-establishing a semblance of control.
82 min: City are suddenly rocking a little! Bravo overplays with the ball at his feet, and is nearly stripped of possession by Da Cruz. The goalie shanks out for a corner. Bannan’s delivery is no good, but City are under a bit of pressure for the first time tonight. The cost of not putting away your chances.
81 min: A Wednesday free kick, out on the right, is hooked to the far post. Stones misses his header ... but so does Lees behind him. Goal kick, but that was half a chance.
80 min: Bannan sends Fox off down the left. His cross is too long. Jesus should clear, but dallies on the ball, allowing Hunt to claim and curl a fantastic low cross along the corridor of uncertainty. Fletcher, at the far stick, is inches away from poking home, but can’t stretch enough. So close to an equaliser that would, on the balance of play, be utterly absurd.
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78 min: ... David Silva shins hysterically into the stand behind. It’s City’s 19th attempt on goal tonight, and the highest flyer of them all.
77 min: Mendy makes good down the left and looks for Jesus in the centre with a low curled cross. The excellent Iorfa slides in to hook out for a corner. From which ...
76 min: But it’s still only 0-1, and in the FA Cup, you never know. Wednesday need to get hold of the ball first, mind you.
75 min: Otamendi feeds Mahrez down the inside right. Mahrez glides towards the box and creams one towards the top left. Wildsmith parries well. City come again, and Mahrez has another pop, dropping a shoulder to come in from the left. Again Wildsmith saves well.
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73 min: How on earth has that second goal not arrived? Mahrez nearly turns the ball home, latching onto a lovely David Silva slide down the inside right, but his effort is turned out for a corner. From the set piece, Wildsmith claims amid a wild scramble, Stones having set it off with a slapshot from the spot. This is desperate stuff from Wednesday now.
71 min: Is sitting back a good idea? It’s moot. Mahrez finds space down the left but can’t find anyone with his pullback. City win a corner out on the right, but Palmer clears. A second goal seems just a matter of time.
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69 min: Wednesday seem quite happy to sit back. They appear to be in Damage Limitation mode.
67 min: Fletcher, surrounded by neon City shirts, tries to escape with a cute backheel. Full marks for ambition, at least. The home crowd respond to his ineffective cheek with a brief but very heartfelt howl of despair.
65 min: Hillsborough has fallen pretty quiet. The home side haven’t achieved anything of note since falling behind. Sequence of more than two passes have come at a premium.
63 min: Lee has tweaked his groin. He hobbles off, to be replaced by 19-year-old Alex Hunt. Wednesday have now used up all of their substitutes.
61 min: Mahrez drives with purpose down the right, cutting into the box before dragging a low shot wide right. That was at the end of a lovely sweeping move also involving Aguero and David Silva. City haven’t been at their very best tonight, but they’re still so easy on the eye.
60 min: More of the passing. City have established full control of this tie, even if the scoreline doesn’t quite reflect their dominance. Yet.
58 min: City stroke the ball around in the grand fashion. They’ve enjoyed 78% of the possession this evening.
56 min: Wednesday respond to falling behind by replacing Forestieri with Steven Fletcher.
54 min: There’s no VAR for this game, and I wonder whether Aguero would have been judged a millimetre or two offside had the nit-pickers at Stockley Park been rocking and rolling tonight. But even if that’s the case - and I wouldn’t be too sure - that would have been one of those absurdly pedantic decisions that are ruining football, and City deserve to be in front anyway, so here we are. No controversy here!
GOAL! Sheffield Wednesday 0-1 Manchester City (Aguero 53)
Mendy slips a pass down the inside-left channel. Aguero traps, turns quickly, and lashes a low shot straight at Wildsmith. The ball’s hit so hard, all Wildsmith can do is parry the ball into the air; it lands behind him and spins into the net. Relentless City get their reward.
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52 min: Now Bernardo Silva has a go, whistling a low shot towards the bottom right. Wildsmith parries well.
51 min: Suitably chastened, City come very close to making their manager a little happier. David Silva rolls a pass across the face of the Wednesday box, right to left. Mendy, coming in from the wing, crashes a super shot towards the top left. Wildsmith gets a fingernail to it, tipping it onto the bar. The ball twangs away. Great football all round.
50 min: Aguero is caught offside as he receives the ball down the right. On the touchline, Pep Guardiola dances around, throwing semaphore shapes and screaming at his players in a very agitated manner. They’d better do as he says, or there’ll be trouble later.
48 min: City have come out on the front foot. Iorfa takes a clunkish touch and is robbed by Mahrez, who sends Aguero scampering towards the Wednesday box. City are two on one, but Aguero hesitates when he should set Mahrez free on the overlap, then sends a dribbler towards the bottom right from distance. Wildsmith claimes easily.
47 min: David Silva whips a vicious low cross in from the right. Wildsmith dives to gather, the ball sticking to his gloves. He’s not had a whole load to do this evening, despite the many chances created by City in the first half. Not a great deal on target as of yet.
Wednesday get the second half underway. They’ve made a half-time change, replacing Borner with Lees.
In tonight’s other fifth-round matches ... Tottenham Hotspur lead Norwich City by an early Jan Vertonghen header, while Leicester City are being held goalless at home by Birmingham City. It’s not been a banner evening in the FA Cup so far. But there’s plenty of time for things to get memorable. Also, remember to stick around after the full-time whistle for the quarter-final draw.
Half-time entertainment. Other cup competitions are available for your leisure and pleasure.
HALF TIME: Sheffield Wednesday 0-0 Manchester City
There goes the half-time whistle. Wednesday have kept the scoreline goalless, but City have created enough chances to be ahead. Remember: if the score stays the same after 90 minutes, we’re heading into extra time and possibly towards a penalty shoot-out.
45 min: Lee clips David Silva to the floor out on the left. Mahrez curls long for Stones, who finds space at the far post. Stones heads down, six yards out. The ball bounces up and over the bar. Goal kick, and yet another great City chance spurned from close range.
44 min: City press hard, coming at Wednesday from all angles. But then suddenly Bannan breaks down the left and curls a long pass up the flank towards Da Cruz. Stones does exceptionally well to slide in and hook the ball away from the striker, just when he was threatening to break into the box.
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42 min: David Silva slips Mahrez into space on the right. The ball’s tugged back for Bernardo Silva, loitering on the penalty spot, but Murphy has read the danger well, and is on point to intercept and clear. That’s fine play all round.
40 min: Stones is now getting booed for nearly breaking his back a couple of minutes ago. Soccer banter!
38 min: Now Stones is down in distress, having winded himself, landing heavily after an aerial duel with Da Cruz. He should be fine to continue once he gets his breath.
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36 min: Mahrez tries to beat Palmer down the left. Palmer slips, accidentally handling the ball, smothering it as he falls. It’s a free kick, but never a booking. However, the yellow card is flashed in his distraught face. A poor decision. From the resulting set piece, Stones flashes a header off target.
35 min: Something for the home fans to scream about as the excellent Iorfa nearly releases Da Cruz with a long slide down the right. Stones, the last man, does extremely well to hold his ground and deny Da Cruz a run on goal.
34 min: Bernardo Silva whips down the right and pulls one back from the byline. Iorfa does well to block Jesus, who was preparing an effort to the left of the D.
32 min: And to illustrate that point, Forestieri crashes into Bernardo Silva out on the right. Mahrez takes the resulting free kick, looping a pinpoint cross onto the head of Otamendi, who crashes a header off the bar from eight yards. He probably should have buried it, though it was a decent effort. City will wonder how on earth they’re not leading.
31 min: City have been dominant from the get-go, give or take a couple of Wednesday attacks. This match has got that matter-of-time vibe.
29 min: Otamendi hits long, and nearly finds the head of David Silva, totally free on the penalty spot, no Wednesday defender anywhere near. Fortunately for the hosts, Otamendi’s pass is overhit; put another way, Silva is about a foot too short. Either way, goal kick.
27 min: Aguero, quarterbacking from a deep position on the left, hits a long diagonal ball towards Jesus, who springs the offside trap down the inside-right channel. The ball drops onto his foot on the edge of the six-yard box ... but it’s another fresh-air swipe. Goal kick. City have created three superb chances, all of them six yards out, but Jesus and Aguero have been weirdly blunt. So far. Plenty of time to address that.
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25 min: A poor defensive header by Borner gifts City a corner out on the right. That one leads to another on the left. Mahrez sets up a quick game of head tennis, before Wednesday slap clear. Forestieri tries to break down the right, but Mendy’s not having that at all.
23 min: Mendy isn’t to be discouraged, and comes again down the left. This time he gets a cross away. Palmer half clears, the ball dropping to Mahrez, who whistles a shot well over the bar from the edge of the box.
22 min: Mendy toils down the left wing. He retains possession for what seems like an age, but can’t dribble his way into space to make a cross, and is eventually forced to turn tail. Full marks for effort, though.
20 min: Aguero prepares to receive the ball with his back to goal, 30 yards out. He’s barged over by Borner. A clear free kick. David Silva floats it down the inside-right channel. Stones dinks a cute ball towards the far post, where Jesus rises highest, only to send a poor header well wide from six yards. City have now passed up two great chances from six yards, failing to work the keeper on both occasions.
19 min: Wednesday will be happy enough with their efforts so far, though. City haven’t warmed Wildsmith’s hands yet, and the hosts have spent a more-than-acceptable amount of time in their opponent’s final third.
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17 min: Bannan, who never quite realised my dream of his becoming Scotland’s Paul Scholes, floats a harmless free kick in the vague direction of the top left, harmlessly high, wide and out of play. Goal kick.
16 min: Fox busies himself down the left and wins Wednesday’s first corner of the game. It’s slung towards Iorfa at the near post, but the defender can’t swivel to get a shot away. City clear. But the hosts quickly launch another attack, Murphy sashaying down the right and purchasing a cheap free kick off an immobile Otamendi. This is in a dangerous position, just to the right of the City box.
14 min: Gundogan slips a pass down the inside left for Jesus. Iorfa once again positions himself perfectly, making sure the City striker can’t latch onto the ball and break clear into the box. Goal kick.
12 min: Murphy hoicks a wild cross into the City box from the right. There’s nobody in attendance, though it’s one of those for Bravo to deal with. He catches on the line with safe hands, thankful the wind didn’t start to swirl.
11 min: Otamendi is down, rubbing his ankle after taking a clack on his ankle in a 50-50 with Forestieri. There was no malicious intent, and the big defender is back up soon enough, fit and raring to go again. Play restarts, and the reliably hapless Stones immediately passes the ball out of play with nobody anywhere near him. A look of impotent exasperation washes across Pep Guardiola’s face.
9 min: That was a promising passage of play by the hosts, but City are quickly back on the ball. Mendy scampers into space down the left and rolls an inviting low cross towards Aguero, who should really score from six yards. But Aguero uncharacteristically flicks thin air, allowing Borner to clear Wednesday’s lines. What a fine chance that was.
7 min: Bannan curls the free kick to the far post, where the busy Iorfa wins a header, sending the ball across the face of goal. City half clear, but Murphy is soon coming back at them down the right. He drops a shoulder to slip past Mendy, and curls a shot towards goal. It takes a big deflection off Otamendi, and should be a corner, but the referee awards a goal kick instead.
5 min: Mahrez hoicks the corner in from the left. Wednesday clear long. Forestieri battles with Mendy, 30 yards from the City goal, right of centre. He’s clumsily brought down, and here’s a chance for the hosts to load the box.
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4 min: City continue to knock it about with velvet grace. Mahrez glides down the right and has a dig from a tight angle. The ball balloons off Iorfa and out for the first corner of the game.
2 min: Mahrez plays a ball down the inside right for Aguero, who spins Iorfa and looks to be clear in the box. But Iorfa battles back hard, and battles back well. He manages to get his body between Aguero and the ball, shepherding both out of play. So close to an early gilt-edged chance for City, though.
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And we’re off! City get the ball rolling at a not-particularly-full Hillsborough. They stroke it around in a relaxed style befitting a side that has won the last six domestic trophies available. Wednesday will get a kick soon.
The Big Music. The teams take to the field as Waterfront blasts out of the PA system. Wednesday wear their famous blue and white stripes, while City wear pick-your-own-70s-confectionery-brand yellow and pink. And now let’s go back to the Sixties: Hi Ho Silver Lining. That’s three decades’ worth of memories covered. We’ll be off in a minute.
Pep Guardiola also speaks to the nation. “We have won the last six domestic trophies, and eight of the last nine. So that is the proof: every game we play, we try. It doesn’t mean you have to win, but you try. Today is another example. That is the way big teams are. The opponents have their skills, they are strong on set pieces and long balls, there is good talent in the middle with Bannan, so we have tried to learn about them.”
Garry Monk has a word with the BBC. “There are many things we will try to get from this game. You have to believe you can get the result you want. We’ve been in a difficult patch of form. We were very good up until Christmas, that’s why we were third, but we’ve had a poor run. But if we can perform to a high level, we can take it from there. So we want to get the result, number one. But also if we give the performance we are capable of, that will give us the confidence and belief moving forward for the rest of the season.”
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Wednesday make four changes to the team swatted aside by Derby at Hillsborough on Saturday afternoon. Joe Wildsmith, Joel Pelupessy, Dominic Iorfa and Alessio Da Cruz replace Cameron Dawson, Tom Lees, Kadeem Harris and Steven Fletcher, all of whom drop to the bench.
City make six changes to their victorious League Cup final starting XI. Kyle Walker, Fernandinho, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Ilkay Gundogan, Phil Foden and Raheem Sterling make way for Cancelo, Benjamin Mendy, Nicolas Otamendi, Bernardo Silva, Riyad Mahrez and Gabriel Jesus. Kevin De Bruyne enjoys a good rest.
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The teams
Sheffield Wednesday: Wildsmith, Palmer, Iorfa, Borner, Fox, Pelupessy, Murphy, Lee, Bannan, Da Cruz, Forestieri.
Subs: Harris, Fletcher, Lees, Nuhiu, Dawson, Hunt, Urhoghide.
Manchester City: Bravo, Joao Cancelo, Stones, Otamendi, Mendy, Bernardo, Rodri, Silva, Mahrez, Aguero, Jesus.
Subs: Sterling, Gundogan, Zinchenko, Fernandinho, Ederson, Foden, Garcia.
Referee: Michael Oliver (Northumberland).
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Preamble
Sheffield Wednesday haven’t won the FA Cup since 1935, when two late goals by winger Ellis Rimmer secured a sensational 4-2 victory over West Bromwich Albion. They’ve reached the final twice since then, losing in dramatic circumstances on both occasions. They shipped a two-goal lead against Everton in 1966, Gerry Young miskicking in midfield, John Lennon and Paul McCartney watching on. Then they lost to Andy Linighan’s 119th-minute header in 1993, the ball squirming through the hands of Chris Woods in agonising fashion. Close on both occasions; no cigar.
If they want to hold onto their dream of scratching an 85-year-old itch, they’ll need to knock out the holders tonight. BREAKING NEWS: it’s a tall order. Manchester City have won their last four games in glorious fashion: a breeze past West Ham, a grind against Leicester, a humiliation of Real Madrid, and a League Cup final win over Aston Villa. Their tails are up. The Premier League is probably beyond them ... but technically the quadruple is still on, so we can’t rule anything out. If anyone can do it, Pep Guardiola’s great team can.
Wednesday by contrast are stuttering badly. Once in the Championship play-off picture, they’ve only emerged victorious from one of their last eight games, turning themselves into a mid-table irrelevance in the space of a month. They’ve recently been beaten at home 3-0 by Reading, and 5-0 by Blackburn. On Saturday, they were three goals down against Derby by the half hour. It’s a struggle for Garry Monk and his men right now, and it’s the reason they’re 12-1 with the bookies tonight.
If that’s not enough, consider this: City have won six of their last seven matches against Wednesday, a sequence that includes a 4-0, a 7-0 and a 6-2 at Hillsborough. Guardiola has also been picking strong teams in the cups, so there’s unlikely to be too much let-up tonight. But football is football, and the FA Cup is the FA Cup. So there’s always hope. Wigan Athletic - who shocked City in this round two years ago - can attest to that. Here’s to a good old-fashioned cup tie, then, David hosting Goliath. It’s on!
Kick off: 7.45pm GMT.
