Preview
City aim for Wembley Wonderland at the expense of Sunderland
'Wembley, Wembley, we're the famous Man City and we're going to Wembley.'
It's a tune that has tip-toed its way on to the tongues of Manchester City fans in the last three years, and a buoyant brigade of blues will be making the trip down to their second home once again on Sunday afternoon. An aura of complacent confidence was been swirling through the streets of Manchester in the build up to the titanic tie, but the Black Cats will be optimistic of swiping at a side they have never lost to in the League Cup.
Unpredictability has characterised the competition since it was founded in 1960; eight different names and 23 different winners later, it would be ludicrous to say things have changed. The Football League Cup continues to captivate the entirity of the British footballing community, but the tournament will acquire a South American semblance on Sunday afternoon.
Whilst Alan Pardew has been headbutting opponents and perpetuating the headlines with profanity, Manuel Pellegrini and Gus Poyet have imposed their placid approaches on the Premier League this season. Although the two competitors habituate very different climates in the league, the Etihad and the Stadium of Light have been successful in repelling controversy this season. Behind what promises to be a frantic feast of football, two Latino minds will be methodically turning the cogs.
(Manuel Pellegrini and Gus Poyet have imposed their measured approaches on the league this season)
Third from top against third from bottom; it's a mis-match on paper - but other than noughts and crosses, when was anything won on paper? In actual fact, Sunderland have been the bringers of bad luck for the blues in recent years, and their journey toward Wembley provided City fans with even more misfortune when Vito Mannone palmed away the prospect of an all-Manchester final back in January. A calamitous display of penalties saw Moyes' men slip at the final hurdle and Sunderland were granted the opportunity to beat Manchester City for the second time this season.
In an act of considerable generosity, Sam Allardyce's West Ham signed, sealed and delivered Manchester City to the gates of Wembley and became the victims of an embarrassing 9-0 aggregate loss to Pellegrini's gluttonous goalscorers. Since then, hitting the back of the net has become a surprisingly arduous task for the blues as injury imposed itself upon Sergio Agüero and the shooting boots of Álvaro Negredo slipped off the feet of the Spaniard. However, with the Argentine set to make a dramatic return to the side, could the beautifully beastly partnership reignite itself tomorrow?
(Sergio Agüero and Álvaro Negredo could partner up once again tomorrow afternoon)
If one was to prescribe a key word to the tie tomorrow, the word would be 'luck'. 'Luck' escaped us in November when 24 shots failed to hit the back of Vito Mannone's net, 'luck' went walkabouts in 2012 when Ji Dong Won tapped home a 90th minute offside winner, and 'luck' failed to show up when THE Nicklas Bendtner netted a brace against the blues in a potentially title-crashing 3-3 draw in the same year. 'Luck' may have helped City along this season, but the Black Cats have an unrivaled ability to deny the blues of it every single time they meet.
Manuel Pellegrini's dream of the quadruple (despite wobbling on its last legs) is definitely still alive, and the first tick on the tally board will hopefully be scribed tomorrow night.
COME ON CITY!
Prediction: 2-0
Line-Ups
Injury has become a poisonous habit for Sergio Agüero this season, and news of his return will certainly elevate confidence levels within the City camp ahead of Sunday's tie. The Argentine has been declared fit to play after watching from the sidelines for three weeks.
(Sergio Agüero has been included in Manuel Pellegrini's squad to face Sunderland on Sunday)
Stevan Jovetić and Matija Nastasić will not be available for the weekend clash.
Sunderland travel to Wembley with a fresh squad free of injury.
Possible line-ups
Manchester City: Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany, Demichelis, Kolarov, Nasri, Silva, Yaya Touré, Fernandinho, Negredo, Agüero
Sunderland: Mannone, Bardsley, Brown, O'Shea, Alonso, Colback, Cattermole, Ki, Borini, Altidore, Johnson
Head to Head Stats
- Manchester City have never beaten Sunderland in the League Cup
- The last meeting between the sides in the cup resulted in a 1-1 draw in 1979, Sunderland won the replay 1-0
- In the last five meetings between the sides, the blues have only won once
Premier League stats
- Manchester City (69) have scored 43 more goals than Sunderland (26) this season
- Sunderland (42) have conceded 15 more goals than the blues (27)
- Manchester City (86%) have completed 7% more of their passes than Sunderland (79%)
- The blues (368) have created 143 more chances than Sunderland (225)
