LEAGUE CUP SHOWDOWN
Man City favourites against Villa in final
>> LONDON: Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is relishing the chance to “do something special with our club” when his side take on Aston Villa in the League Cup final today.
City could become just the second club to win the competition in three successive years when they face Villa and will be hot favourites to lift the trophy once again.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Guardiola said his players have a “big opportunity” at Wembley, and is looking forward to the showdown.
“We will prepare for the game tactically and mentally, it is a big opportunity to do something special with our club,” he told reporters.
“It will be a fantastic game, and we want to fight for another trophy.”
The Citizens were 6-1 winners over Villa when the sides met in the Premier League in January with Sergio Aguero scoring three goals and Riyad Mahrez two.
But Guardiola said his team must be wary of the threat Villa pose.
“They are organised, with a keeper with excellent experience in Pepe Reina,” the Spaniard said.
“It was a good game when we went there in the league, but the result is in the past, and we are focusing on the final. It is a different competition.
“Villa have won a Champions League and they have a fantastic history. We have to stay focused.”
City will go into today’s showpiece on a high after being Real Madrid 2-1 in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie at the Bernabeu on Wednesday.
But Guardiola has no concerns about his players’ focus.
“The night after Madrid we were calm and then Madrid was gone and we were thinking about Aston Villa,” he said.
Guardiola is hoping to win the League Cup for a third year in succession. City are aiming for their fifth triumph in seven seasons.
The former Barcelona boss said: “I know how difficult it is to reach the final for everyone involved. You’ve done really well to reach it when playing every three or four days. It is a great achievement to get there but now we must try to win.”
Meanwhile, for Villa boss Dean Smith, coming up against a team as strong as Manchester City is nothing to fear as his side head to a League Cup final for the first time since 2010, the BBC reported.
“We’re massive underdogs against a world-class team,” Smith said. “But I can only name one or two other teams who wouldn’t be underdogs going into the game against City.
“They’re a fantastic team, no matter which 11 they put out, and they’ve a fantastic coach which is why they can go to the Bernabeu and get a result.
“But I like sometimes being the underdog because we can go and have a good fight without people expecting anything of us.”
Villa, led by midfielder Jack Grealish, head to Wembley on the back of three straight Premier League defeats and are one point above the relegation zone in the table.
Smith’s side are searching for their first win since the League Cup semi-final second-leg victory over Leicester City in January.
The club have won the League Cup on five previous occasions but Smith, who is a boyhood Villa supporter, said he does not feel the burden of trying to bring success back to the Midlands.
“It’s not a weight,” Smith said. “If anybody had told me nine years ago, when I started out as manager of Walsall that I’d be a Premier League manager leading Villa into a cup final with a chance to win a trophy then I would have said they’re crackers.
“We’ve done well to get to the final, and now we’ve an opportunity against one of the world’s best teams.”