MX23RW : Wednesday, January 15 01:56:32| >> :120:11573:11573:

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:
Written by
P A
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
1Liverpool20145148202847
2Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest21125430201041
3Arsenal20117239182140
4Chelsea21107441261537
5Newcastle UnitedNewcastle20105534221235
6Manchester CityMan City2110563829935
7Bournemouth219753225734
8Aston Villa209563032-232
9Fulham217953230230
10Brentford218494037328
11Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2061043029128
12West Ham UnitedWest Ham217592741-1426
13Tottenham HotspurSpurs20731042301224
14Manchester UnitedMan Utd206592328-523
15Crystal Palace204972128-721
16Everton193881525-1017
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves2044123145-1416
18Ipswich TownIpswich2037102035-1516
19Leicester CityLeicester2035122344-2114
20Southampton2013161244-326


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!