LONDON: Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola believes Sunday’s FA Cup quarterfinal against Newcastle United will be play out like “a final.”
City play Chelsea in the Premier League on Thursday and any result but a victory will hand Liverpool the Premier League title.
Their Spanish leader admits now the primary focus is successfully continuing their defence of the FA Cup they won against Watford last year.
“We cannot deny we have one eye on Newcastle,” said Guardiola.
“Chelsea is a prestigious game for us, but Newcastle is a final. The team selection will depend on physical condition of the players.”
Team management is something that concerns Guardiola after he lost star striker Sergio Aguero to a left knee injury in Monday’s 5-0 win over Burnley. Aguero travelled to Barcelona on Wednesday for surgery and said the operation was a success.
“I don’t know when we will be fit perfectly to play every three days,” Guardiola added.
“We have some kicks after the game, which is normal. You have to see day by day how we can avoid injuries.
City’s neighbours Manchester United resume the cup competition, which has been suspended since March because of the coronavirus, against Norwich City on Saturday.
Both teams played in the Premier League on Wednesday with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side dominating against Sheffield United in a 3-0 win, while Daniel Farke’s Norwich fell short in a 1-0 loss to Everton.
Despite the loss and being bottom of the Premier League table, Farke says Norwich will fight for everything they have to play for until the end of the season.
“It’s not unrealistic for us to win the FA Cup or stay in the league,” he said. “When you wear this yellow shirt you have responsibility and big pride. As long as there is a chance, we won’t give up.”
Sheffield United also remain in the last eight and will welcome Arsenal to Bramall Lane on Sunday and Chris Wilder says they will need to find their strategy quickly if they are to remain in the competition after a poor run.
“There’s no time on the training ground to right the wrongs,” said Wilder. “There’s certainly a lot of wrongs at the moment, individually and as a team.
“We’ve got to get the team selection right and the right messages to the players. Most importantly, the players have got to up the standard.”
Leicester City and Chelsea complete the line-up for the last eight with their fixture at Leicester’s King Power Stadium on Sunday.
There will be two Premier League fixtures over the weekend with Aston Villa hosting Wolverhampton Wanderers in Saturday’s midlands derby before Watford face Southampton on Sunday. – dpa
