FA Cup Victory Crucial For Manchester City – Guardiola

Pep Guardiola has said that winning the FA Cup would still carry weight for Manchester City, even though a victory in Saturday’s final won’t completely redeem what has been a below-par season by the club’s lofty standards.

City relinquished their Premier League crown to Liverpool, ending a five-year reign, and now risk finishing the campaign without silverware for the first time since Guardiola’s inaugural season in charge back in 2016/17—unless they defeat Crystal Palace in this weekend’s FA Cup final at Wembley.

With just two league fixtures remaining, Guardiola’s side are also in a battle to secure a top-five finish, which would be necessary to qualify for the Champions League.

Still, the city manager emphasised on Friday that the team’s full attention is on lifting the FA Cup in what will be their third straight appearance in the final.

“That is the problem, right? The FA Cup now is not the first choice (trophy).

“Once we are here, of course we want the trophy.

“It is massively important.

“But to win the trophy, you have to be there. And to have to be there, you have to win previous games. And we have done it for many, many years in the last years,” Guardiola said during his pre-match press conference.

Star striker Erling Haaland is expected to start, having returned from a six-week injury layoff in last weekend’s goalless draw against already-relegated Southampton.

Guardiola also noted he has no intention of limiting Kevin De Bruyne’s playing time in order to preserve him for Tuesday’s match against Bournemouth, which may be the Belgian’s final home appearance for the club.

However, Guardiola confirmed he is taking a more cautious approach with Ballon d’Or winner Rodri, who is recovering from cruciate ligament damage sustained in September.

“He is much, much better,” said Guardiola of Rodri.

“I am waiting for the doctors. When they tell me when he is ready, he is going to start.

“We don’t want to take a risk and take a step back.”