Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City will travel to Championship side Bristol City in the FA Cup fifth round – with the hosts looking to cause a dramatic upset.
Guardiola’s side qualified for Matchday 5 of the competition after defeating Premier League leaders Arsenal at the Etihad – Nathan Ake scoring the only goal of the game.
With Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea out of the competition, Guardiola’s men will be looking to win the competition for the seventh time in their history. Their last FA Cup success came in 2019 – when they beat Watford 6-0.
They are unbeaten in their last five games in all competitions after losing to Tottenham in January and are coming off a win against Bournemouth. Julian Alvarez, Erling Haaland and Phil Foden scored in the 4-1 victory.
As for Bristol City, Nigel Pearson’s side defeated West Brom 3-0 in the last round – with Sam Bell and Alex Scott scoring for the Robins.
Nathan Ake scored Manchester City’s only goal during their final FA Cup game against Arsenal
Sam Bell scored twice in Bristol City’s FA Cup tie against West Bromwich Albion
Pearson’s men are unbeaten in 12 games in all competitions and are coming off a win against Hull City – with Nahki Wells scoring the only goal of the game. Bristol are currently 13th in the Championship table.
sports mail details everything you need to know ahead of Bristol City’s meeting with Manchester City, including start times, TV channels and team news.
When is Bristol City v Manchester City?
Bristol will face Guardiola’s City on Tuesday 28 February, with the game kicking off at 8pm.
The clash between the two teams will take place at Ashton Gate – with Bristol looking to make their home advantage count.
It’s fair to say that Bristol fans won’t be optimistic going into the clash, having won just once in their last five matches against Tuesday’s opponents.
The two clubs last met in 2018 – with Leroy Sane, Sergio Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne scoring in a 3-2 win for Manchester City.
After scoring his 11th goal of the season during the final game against Hull – Pearson will be hoping striker Nahki Wells can score again on Tuesday.
As for Guardiola’s side, City will look to Haaland for inspiration against the Championship team. The Norwegian is the club’s top scorer this season with 33 goals in 33 games.
Dangerous man Erling Haaland will be eager to add to his 33 goals this season against Bristol City
how to watch
Tuesday’s clash between Bristol and Manchester City will be shown live on ITV1.
The game between the two teams will also be streamed on the official ITVX app.
Highlights will be uploaded to the official ITV YouTube channel after the game.
Sportsmail will also provide live coverage of Bristol v Manchester City, so you can keep up to date with all the latest developments here.
The FA Cup spectacle between Bristol City and Manchester City will take place at Ashton Gate
team news
Bristol City defender Rob Atkinson has been ruled out through injury, along with Kal Naismith, Kane Wilson and Tommy Conway.
New signings Harry Cornick and Anis Mehmeti will also miss the game as the two are cup-tied.
Guardiola confirmed that De Bruyne still has “a bit of illness” – but is fit to play.
The Belgian midfielder missed City’s Champions League clash with RB Leipzig last week and did not come off the bench in his last game against Bournemouth.
Aymeric Laporte also missed City’s last league game – but will be assessed in pre-match training.
Kevin De Bruyne could return after missing Man City’s last league game against Bournemouth
What was said?
Going into the clash with Pearson’s side, Guardiola is not taking the game lightly and claims he will field a ‘serious team’ on Tuesday.
“The last 12 games without defeat give me a lot of information, 12 games without defeat tell me they are there,” said Guardiola. ‘My scout says they are a good team. The manager has a lot of experience, he did very well at Leicester and Watford.
Coach Pep Guardiola reveals he will make a ‘serious’ team in the game against Bristol City
‘It’s a final, the FA Cup is an important competition, very, very important, so a serious team will play tomorrow.
‘From my experience in this country, when you leave home in the FA Cup against a Championship team, it’s always, always difficult. At home it would be a little different, away, the FA Cup is always difficult.
‘That’s why we’re flying out there tomorrow to play a good game and get through. It’s a good competition and we’re going to do what we have to do.’