- Guardiola has praised Liverpool ahead of Saturday’s meeting
- Man City looking for third win against Liverpool this season
- Victory would secure a record eighth FA Cup semi-final in a row for the Citizens
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has praised Saturday’s opponents Liverpool ahead of this weekend’s FA Cup quarter-final clash.
Man City face Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium, hoping to make it three wins from three against the Reds in 2025/26.
Last month, City beat Arsenal 2-0 at Wembley to win the Carabao Cup thanks to a brace from Nico O’Reilly. Therefore, Saturday is a chance to build on this success.
The Cityzens are favourites to beat Liverpool, with former Man City star Shay Given among those predicting a win for the hosts on Saturday.
Pep Guardiola praises ‘biggest rival’ Liverpool
Speaking ahead of Saturday’s game, Guardiola made sure to credit opponents Liverpool for their recent successes.
He said: “For many times [Liverpool] have been the rival, the biggest, biggest one.
“So this is a team, like you know, making incredible investment last season to be there for many, many years, and is in Champions League, and it’s a top contender, top-class players.
“We hopefully can perform like we did at Arsenal to reach the next step.”
Manchester City chasing record eighth straight FA Cup semi
As well as a place in this year’s semi-finals, City also have the chance to extend an incredible record.
They have reached the last four of the FA Cup in each of the past seven seasons, and can make it eight in a row on Saturday.
City have won the title twice in that period, making the final on four occasions.
The last time they failed to reach the semi-finals was back in 2018, when they lost 1-0 to Wigan Athletic, who also beat City in the 2013 final.
