MX23RW : Wednesday, May 22 09:33:28| >> :60:2358:2358:

Pep Guardiola plays down quadruple suggestions

His Manchester City side are still fighting for four trophies this season.

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has dismissed talk of the quadruple as a fairytale.

City booked an FA Cup fifth round trip to Swansea after avoiding a massive upset at Cheltenham with a 3-1 comeback win on Saturday.

They are also second in the Premier League, play Borussia Monchengladbach in the last 16 of the Champions League next month and face Tottenham in the Carabao Cup final in April.

But Guardiola insisted any suggestion of a clean sweep this season is fanciful.

Manchester City v Brighton and Hove Albion – Premier League – Etihad Stadium
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has dismissed suggestions of a clean sweep (Clive Brunskill/PA)

"The target is Big Sam, West Brom, the other is a fairytale – 99.9 per cent never be accomplished," he said, ahead of Tuesday's trip to The Hawthorns.

"My advice is that you don't do these kind of questions to the managers as it's unrealistic."

Phil Foden, Gabriel Jesus and Ferran Torres scored in the final 10 minutes at Cheltenham to cancel out Alfie May's shock opener.

Guardiola gave Eric Garcia his first start for more than a month with the defender's future increasingly likely to be away from the Etihad.

He is in the final year of his contract and has been heavily linked with a return to boyhood club Barcelona.

Eric Garcia File Photo
Eric Garcia looks to be on his way out of Manchester City (Mike Egerton/PA)

Guardiola said: "I'm pretty sure he's going to leave at the end of the season. Now, in this transfer window, it will depend on the clubs. We'll see until the end of the transfer window."

City's injury crisis is also easing after Aymeric Laporte shook off a hamstring injury to make his first appearance since before Christmas while Torres has  recovered from coronavirus.

"Two important players are back. We were unlucky that we were without Eric, Aymer, Nathan (Ake), we had just two centre-backs," said Guardiola.

"We survived this period, 10 wins in a row, It's important to have Ferran, Eric and Nathan because we'll need everyone.

"It's important they played well, it's not easy after a long time out to come and play like that – it's important."

ID:431991: cacheID:431991:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:6106:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Manchester City's Phil Foden celebrates scoring against Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League on January 13, 2021
Read Next:
Phil Foden vows to continue improving amid strong form
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
CManchester CityMan City38287396346291
2Arsenal38285591296289
3Liverpool382410486414582
4Aston Villa382081076611568
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs382061274611366
6Chelsea381891177631463
7Newcastle UnitedNewcastle381861485622360
8Manchester UnitedMan Utd38186145758-160
9West Ham UnitedWest Ham381410146074-1452
10Crystal Palace381310155758-149
11Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton381212145562-748
12Bournemouth38139165467-1348
13Fulham38138175561-647
14Wolverhampton WanderersWolves38137185065-1546
15Everton38139164051-1140
16Brentford38109195665-939
17Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest3899204967-1832
RLuton TownLuton3868245285-3326
RBurnley3859244178-3724
RSheffield UnitedSheff Utd38372835104-6916


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!