Pep Guardiola will be glad to see his Manchester City avoid all the proclaimed 'big-hitters' in the draw for the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup, with The Citizens set to travel to former Premier League champions Leicester City.

First piece of silverware still up for grabs

Many see the newly-christened Carabao Cup as yet another competition to stuff up an already congested fixture list for the country's biggest clubs, however Guardiola will see this as the perfect opportunity to open his trophy cabinet at the Etihad Stadium having missed out in his debut campaign for the first time in his managerial career.

Everyone sat with bated breath for the illustrious cup draw which was inevitably shrouded in mediocrity, but when they eventually got down to business City were the sixth team drawn out against The Foxes.

It certainly wasn't easy for The Citizens to get to this stage of the competition as they welcomed Championship leaders Wolverhampton Wanderers on Tuesday night, Wolves managed to hold their hosts for the whole 120 minutes of normal and extra-time before going to penalties and it was Claudio Bravo who proved the hero as City came out 4-1 victors.

It was slightly easier for Michael Appleton's side against Championship opposition as they welcomed Leeds United to KingPower Stadium who swept aside in a 3-1 victory, the clash between Leicester and Manchester City will take place the week commencing December 18.

Not acceptable for a high-level competition

Many will have been surprised to see City's lack of goals considering the blistering goalscoring form they have been in of late, but Guardiola took to bizarre reasoning post-match stating that the Carabao Cup ball was to blame for City's lack of goals on the night.

“It is not acceptable, the ball was unacceptable for a high-level competition,” Guardiola said in his post-match conference. “It is too light, it moves all over the place, it is not a good ball."

"It is impossible to score with a ball like that," the Catalan stated. "And I can say that because we won, I’m not making excuses."

"All of my players said: ‘What is that?’ I’m sorry Carabao Cup is not a serious ball for a serious competition," Guardiola concluded. "It’s [for] marketing, money, OK but it’s not acceptable – [it has] no weight, nothing.”