Former Arsenal forward Charlie Nicholas is not giving Burton Albion much of a chance when they take on Manchester City tonight.
The Brewers have made it to the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup after battling their way from the first round of the tournament back in August, where they defeated Shrewsbury Town 2-1 away from home to advance.
Consecutive home wins over Aston Villa, Burnley and Nottingham Forest came next before the League One side recorded a 1-0 win over Middlesbrough at the Riverside in the quarter-finals.
Their reward is a two-legged tie with Carabao Cup holders Man City, who have won the tournament in three of the previous five seasons.
Unsurprisingly, Nicholas – himself a League Cup winner in 1987 – is backing the defending champions to win when the sides meet at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night, predicting a 4-0 win for the home side.
“Congratulations Burton, but this is where it ends!” Nicholas says his column for Sky Sports. “Pep has turned around and said: ‘We’re going after four [trophies]’.
“He was brought to deliver Champions League but a truly great club goes after everything. He went after it at Barcelona and he didn’t quite make it at Bayern.
“He will want his side to win the game by three or four and leave the big boys on the bench. No disrespect but, like in the FA Cup, I think it will be done. Nigel Clough has done a fantastic job but the cup run ends here.”
Charlie predicts City to run out as 4-0 victors ahead of the second leg.
Speaking ahead of the game, Guardiola revealed that he has a close to fully-fit squad to select from as he looks to retain the trophy.
He said: “Winning is important, we cannot deny it, we are here in the semi-finals and it’s one step to go back to Wembley,”
“That’s why we take it seriously in that game once we are here.
“It’s true the Carabao Cup is the more local competition. Everybody is happy to win but nobody is sad if they go out in that competition.
“Once we are here, we are going to try.”
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