Leicester collapse is an issue
A few years ago, a home game against Leicester sparked major change at Manchester City. The defending was so disastrous in a 5-2 embarrassment that Ruben Dias was signed days later and immediately transformed the team.
There was a clear gulf in class on Saturday as the Blues went three goals up against the relegation-threatened Foxes. However, five changes from Pep Guardiola saw the game change completely in the final 30 minutes as the substitutes helped the visitors back into a game they should never have been in.
Also read: Pep Guardiola fires Arsenal warning at tired City players after Bernardo admission
That complicates things for the manager, who should find it more difficult to rotate as much as he was planning to for this match after seeing such underwhelming performances from those players. And it is made worse by the energy that Bayern took out of City in midweek, with every player looking particularly knackered as they made their way to the bus after a draining 90 minutes.
Guardiola's selection will be harder to make than it was before the Leicester game.
Sheffield steel
City can be happy that they avoided Brighton given the style and form of Roberto De Zerbi's men and the drama of a derby would also have been sapping. But even if Sheffield United are the easiest team on paper, these are exactly the sort of teams that have caused problems for the Blues in the past.
The Championship side are full of confidence, used to winning, and clear in their minds about their strengths and weaknesses and what they need to do as a team. City have had so much success under Guardiola by not underestimating their opponents, yet this will still be a tough test of that mentality.
Fourth time lucky
City have fallen at this hurdle for the last three years. The challenge of competing on multiple fronts has usually come back to bite Guardiola, with his FA Cup selections producing limp performances that have seen a tame exit.
For all the talk of City not having won the Champions League, one FA Cup during Guardiola's six previous attempts is a surprisingly poor attempt when compared to the domination he has enjoyed in the Premier League and Carabao Cup. That is something the players and the managers want to improve on, and why there has been a determined effort to make sure they are in better condition for this semi-final.
Haaland watch
Erling Haaland looked to signal to the bench at the Allianz Arena that it was time to come off during the end of the Bayern game, and Guardiola was quick to shout for Julian Alvarez to come on. The manager insisted that there was no injury to Haaland, although it is important to remember how much has been stressed recently about the 24-hour care that the No.9 needs.
For the talk of rotation troubles, Alvarez is one of the more trusted options if Haaland is not needed - although it would be a big call to leave the 48-goal striker out of a cup semi-final. Arsenal on Wednesday must be taken into consideration as well, so it will be interesting to see how much Haaland is used on Saturday.
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April 22, 2023 at 11:30AM
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Man City team is harder for Pep Guardiola to pick after difficult two hours - Manchester Evening News
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