Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola ‘living day by day’ in hunt for EPL and FA Cup glory

LONDON – Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola will put aside the English Premier League title race for this weekend, as he focuses on his team’s FA Cup semi-final clash with Southampton on April 25.

City have climbed back to the top of the English top flight after beating Burnley 1-0 on April 22, but they would have hoped to score more as they failed to build a comfortable goal-difference cushion over Arsenal.

It could all go down to slim margins but nevertheless, Guardiola’s side now have a five-game winning streak in all competitions, as they usually surge at the tail end of the season.

For now, the City boss’ mind is all on the Saints in the FA Cup.

“I am living day by day. I wouldn’t wake up and think about what we have won,” he said on April 24.

“It is a semi-final at Wembley again. We will try to win. We are just focusing on the game tomorrow. Semi is always tough. Tomorrow will be a fantastic day.”

Guardiola is not prioritising the Premier League and prefers to look at how many games they must win as a whole to clinch the domestic double.

“We have a game tomorrow and then eight days to recover and make the last sprint (in the league). Last five or six games (altogether) depending on tomorrow,” he added.

City – who beat Liverpool (4-0), Newcastle United (3-1), Salford City (2-0) and Exeter City (10-1) in the previous rounds – are into their eighth consecutive FA Cup semi-final and they are aiming to become the first team in the competition’s history to advance to a fourth final in a row.

However, the last time they won it was in 2022-23 and they have lost the last two to Crystal Palace and rivals Manchester United.

The seven-time FA Cup winners will be favourites for this contest, as they have won their last 21 FA Cup fixtures against non-Premier League teams, scoring 84 goals and conceding only 11.

It is not all gloom and doom for Championship side Southampton, as City have also lost six of their last seven FA Cup games under Guardiola at Wembley.

The Saints have narrowly progressed to the last four.

They clinched slim victories over Doncaster Rovers (3-2), Leicester City (2-1 after extra time) and Fulham (1-0) before their impressive 2-1 win over Arsenal earlier in April.

“To knock out Fulham and Arsenal speaks for itself. Great opportunity to get to the final,” warned Guardiola.

Southampton have a 20-game unbeaten run across all competitions (W16 D4), scoring two or more goals in 13 of those matches. But their eight-game winning streak ended on April 21 in a 2-2 draw with Bristol City.

The Saints have not made it to the title decider since 2002-03 and they have lost in nine of their 13 semi-final clashes – most recently to Leicester in 2020-21.

Against City, they have lost 13 of their previous 18 encounters in all competitions, winning only two.

It is unlikely that an upset could occur, but manager Tonda Eckert thinks otherwise.

“The goal is very clear – we go there to compete and we go there to win the game,” said the German.

“It’s a big stadium, obviously, but I don’t go there for the experience. I don’t go there as a spectator. We go there to challenge. It’s prime time, not just for us, for many big teams.

“We don’t shy away from that. We embrace that pressure and we need to thrive off it.”