Strikers may force City to defend deep

PEP Guardiola has suggested City will be forced to scrap their high defensive line in order to cope with Newport County’s strikers.

Padraig Amond and Jamille Matt have scored 30 goals between them in all competitions this season and are expected to line up together in Saturday’s David-vs-Goliath FA Cup fixture at Rodney Parade.

City are the clear favourites to make it into the quarter-finals but the Blues won’t have it easy against a side that has already dumped Premier League opposition out of the competition.

Newport’s main threat is Irishman Amond and Guardiola believes his players will be forced to defend deep due to the physical and aerial threat of the League Two club’s forwards.

“Normally when we play in the Premier League games, the players already know what they (the opposing teams) do. Especially in the second leg,” Guardiola said. “But they don’t know the [Newport] players... now they know a little bit with [Robbie] Wilmott, with Matt, with [Scott] Bennett, with Amond.

“Both strikers scored 14 or 15 goals this season, they are incredibly good in the set pieces and the throw-ins and they’re going to the second balls, they use the channels perfectly to provoke the collections to put the ball in the box, and we’ll defend deeper especially in our box.

“We are going to suffer because they are taller and stronger than us, so in some areas they are better than us and we have to try and bring our game.”