Guardiola sets his sights on Manchester City going further in the League Cup.
2025-12-17 02:07
Manchester City, nicknamed "The Blue Moon," will host Brentford, nicknamed "The Bees," at the Etihad Stadium in a crucial quarter-final match of the 2025/26 EFL Cup. Pep Guardiola stated in a press conference that his team will give their all to go as far as possible in this competition.
With Haaland's brace and Foden's goal, Manchester City secured a 3-0 victory over Crystal Palace in the Premier League, extending their winning streak to four games before heading into the English League Cup.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said, "Of course we want to go further and reach the semi-finals. Although we are playing Brentford at home, we know how tough they are, as we have seen this season, but we will give it our all and work hard to advance."
"In the early stages of the League Cup over the past few seasons, we have sometimes faced very strong opponents, such as away games against Newcastle and Tottenham, but we have performed very well."
Guardiola also said, "We have encountered many injury problems at other times, and when the team is plagued by injuries, we need to maintain our form for the Premier League or other more important competitions, but we will still do our best."
When discussing the squad selection, Guardiola said, "Doku and Stones are unavailable, as is Rodri, but I think the other players will be ready. I don't know how long Doku will be out, maybe two or three weeks, perhaps until the game against Sunderland."
"James Trafford will play, as will players who haven't played much recently, as well as some players from the youth academy, because we're playing West Ham in three days."
In addition, Guardiola added, "I'm not saying that reaching the League Cup semi-finals isn't a priority, but usually when we do that, it's when everyone is healthy, injury-free, and we can rotate the squad."
"When you're just one game away from the semifinals, you have to seize any opportunity you have, because you never know when the next chance will come."
