Manchester City Fan View: Sky Blues look to avoid FA Cup upset as Aymeric Laporte jets in

Pep Guardiola takes his Manchester City side to Wales on Sunday where they will face Championship side Cardiff. It’s an FA Cup fourth round fixture and provides City with the opportunity to take the next step in their pursuit of an unprecedented quadruple.

City have long been a miles ahead of anybody in the race to be crowned Premier League champions, whilst Neil Warnock’s Bluebirds are third in the second tier. Despite their push for promotion, Cardiff have hit a bit of a blip in their season. Two wins from just eight games has seen Derby County nip in ahead of them into second place. The Welsh side would dearly love to provide their fans with a day to remember with an unlikely win over City.

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Pep will know that his side are runaway favourites to win this match, but he’ll also know there’s no room for complacency. Cardiff are likely to try and bypass the midfield and City’s pressing game by playing long balls and, after a few recent defensive lapses, the boss will be looking for his back line to concentrate throughout and not place any unnecessary pressure on themselves.

City have not kept a clean sheet since their 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace on New Year’s Eve. That means they’ve conceded a goal in each of their last six games; in many cases, they’ve been a direct result of individual mistakes or a collective loss of focus.

That might help explain why the Sky Blues have moved so quickly to recruit a new defender. Guardiola has long been an admirer of Athletic Bilbao’s French centre-back Aymeric Laporte. The 23-year-old will become the club record signing at The Etihad as City trigger his £57m release clause.

Laporte will join early next week and whichever centre-back pairing is put together at Cardiff, they’ll know they’ve got serious competition for their place. Long term, Guardiola will enjoy the luxury of choice. With Laporte, John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi, he will have the option to play a back three with Benjamin Mendy and Kyle Walker attacking as offensive full-backs.

Right now, Laporte’s arrival will spell the end of Eliaquim Mangala’s first-team opportunities. It is also a nail in the coffin of Vincent Kompany’s career as the Belgian’s injuries tragically look set to curtail any lingering aspirations of a full-time comeback.

So, what of that quadruple attempt? Very few people connected to City will publicly admit to giving real consideration to winning all four major trophies this season. However, they’ve booked their place in the League Cup final and are 12 points clear at the top of the league. An FA Cup tie at a Championship team represents a real opportunity for progression and they should make it to the Champions League quarter-final, with FC Basel standing in their way.

Taking all four pieces of silverware remains incredibly unlikely. However, with the quality throughout the team and their status as the best team in England, City have a better chance than anybody ever has to pull off a remarkable feat. They’ll have to avoid an unlikely upset to keep those hopes alive.