Manchester City face Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley on Sunday afternoon and may have a clear advantage before the game even kicks off..
City have had great success in the competition in recent years despite losing to Manchester United in the final 12 months ago. The Blues have now reached seven semi-finals in a row and have gone on to win the competition twice, most recently in 2023 as part of their historic treble when they beat United 2-1.
The experience the club and the players have gained could prove to be an advantage against a Forest side who haven't been in the FA Cup semi-finals since 1991, when they lost to Tottenham in the final. Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo reached the last four with Wolves in the 2018/19 season but lost out to Watford.
Guardiola spoke on his admiration for the FA Cup and for his team in reaching an unprecedented seven semi-finals in a row after they beat Bournemouth 2-1 at the Vitality Stadium in the last eight.
“It’s an incredible achievement because it’s every year, every year, every year," he said. "You know how difficult it is in the league to win a championship, but you can drop, you can lose.
“We play semi-finals coming two or three days before most of the times, playing away Champions League quarterfinals with a big disappointment being out or big success and no recovery, playing against Liverpool and Chelsea and so on.
“So, it’s not easy to, you know, to cope sometimes for that. Even with that, all the time we were there, so we break our own record we had last season six in a row, so now seven.
“So it’s not easy, I’m sorry because this is what this club or this team, these legendary players have shown during a lot of time.”
The FA Cup is the only domestic route to silverware for City in what has been a disappointing season by their high standards, although they could claim the Club World Cup this summer.
There is little to separate both Forest and City in the league this season with Guardiola's side one point above Forest having played a game more. Forest were 1-0 winners over City last month but the Blues will hope their experience in games such as Sunday's can prove pivotal.
---
Here at the Manchester Evening News, we’re dedicated to bringing you the best Manchester City coverage and analysis.
Make sure you don’t miss out on the latest City news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe.
You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day’s biggest stories.
And finally, if you’d rather listen to our expert analysis then make sure to check out our Talking City podcast. Our shows are available on all podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and you can also watch along on YouTube.
