Manchester City takes on Sheffield United in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley, looking to bring back the trophy back to Manchester four years later.
Pep Guardiola's side has seen their usual outstanding form in recent games, currently on a nine-game unbeaten run in the Premier League. However, the Citizens are still battling against top-of-the-table Arsenal to gain their place back. Arsenal is currently four points ahead, however, City still has a game in hand.
Similarly, Sheffield United are flying in the Championship. They are currently second and only require two more points for promotion. They come into this game off the back of a league win against Bristol City.
Pep took to the media on Friday afternoon to preview the game.
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Another FA Cup Win?
Man City lifted the FA Cup trophy in 2019, following a win against Watford. Pep spoke of his and his team's hunger to progress to another final and go on to win.
"Hopefully we can have it. Last season we arrived here, last three or four years, and we don't perform well. One reason is the fatigue, this year we still have it. The Champions League quarter-final is so draining and we have to recover. Every season I have the feeling we're not physically ready, hopefully this time we will be."
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The Opponent
Sheffield United sit second in the Championship and only require two more points for promotion.
Pep explains that he still feels their playing style is similar to that of their style in 2020/21.
"It's quite similar to the way they played under Chris Wilder. They did an incredible first season [in the Premier League]. A lot of patterns."
"They are one game away from Premier League promotion and it will be an extremely difficult game. For the quality of the set pieces, build up and building the channels. They are so aggressive in the duals. This is the feeling I have. We need to be there at 4:45 to deserve to be in the final."
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Player Rotation
City's last fixture came against Bayern Munich in the quarter-final of the Champions League, where they progressed to the semi-finals with an aggregate score of 4-1.
Despite the delight of the win, the short span of three days to prepare for a crucial game leaves some of the players fatigued. Pep spoke on player rotation and deciding who is in the best condition for the game on the weekend.
"I have to see how the players are doing today. After Munich they couldn't even celebrate because they were so tired. They didn't have as much sequences on the ball to rest on the ball, they had to run a lot."
"We will train today and I will have to talk to some. Of course they will lie and say they want to play but we will have to make sure they're in the best condition. It's not just this game but we have played many, many games every three, four days knowing if we lose we're out. It's fatigue. We will have to see."
With not only physical fatigue but also mental fatigue, Pep and his squad have learnt how to transfer this into energy and a sense of motivation.
"On the other side it's amazing to be here knowing we can reach a final. When you have this desire to still be there the fatigue converts to energy, something positive. We fight every game to be there. The human being has an incredible ability to regenerate if the mind is positive."
Pep explained that certain players will be working on managed minutes and will be resting for the weekend.
"With the demanding schedule of games every three or four days we have to take care of them - with nutrition, rest, sleep, food. For the training, how many minutes - there is data. Sometimes they cannot train more than 10 or 15 minutes."
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Injury
Nathan Ake was substituted in the second half of Wednesday night's Champions League tie against Bayern Munich with a hamstring issue. Pep explained that he doesn't know how long he will be out for, but he certainly will not be available for Saturday.
"He's not ready for tomorrow but I don't know the damage."
Phil Foden has been on the sidelines since the international break when he underwent surgery on his appendix however he appeared on the bench on Wednesday.
"He was on the bench [in Munich] after two training sessions and three weeks without training. Each day that passes he will be better."
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Match Information
Manchester City faces Sheffield United on Saturday 22nd April at Wembley Stadium with a kick-off time of 16:45. The game will be shown live on ITV1 and ITVX.