A historic moment and Pep Guardiola’s staggering record – Stat Preview: Bristol City vs Manchester City (FA Cup Fifth Round)

Manchester City have travelled to Bristol City this week to take on Nigel Pearson’s squad in the fifth round of the FA Cup.

City will be looking to continue their fine streak in the competition at Ashton Gate on Tuesday night, after reaching the fifth round of the competition courtesy of third and fourth round victories over Chelsea and Arsenal respectively.

However, despite sitting in a league above their opponents, Bristol City’s record poses a significant threat to Pep Guardiola’s ambitions, with The Robins unbeaten in all competitions since December 26.

After a rocky start to the new year, City have finally found some form, and come into the contest off the back of a 1-4 win on the south coast against Bournemouth, courtesy of goals from Julian Alvarez, Erling Haaland, and Phil Foden.

Ahead of what could be a fine night of FA Cup action in Bristol, here are all the statistics and potential landmark moments to look out for in the contest!

Bristol City

• Bristol City have been eliminated from 13 of their 14 FA Cup fifth round ties, with their one exception coming in 1973/74 when they knocked out Leeds United in a replay.

Manchester City

• Manchester City have won their last 12 FA Cup matches against sides from a lower division by an aggregate score of 42-8.

• Pep Guardiola has managed 35 domestic cup ties as a manager of Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Manchester City against sides from outside the top-flight and progressed from 34 of them – failing only against Wigan in the FA Cup fifth round in 2017/18.

• Manchester City’s last defeat to a team from a lower division was away at Wigan in February 2018, losing 1-0.

• Since 2016/17, when Pep Guardiola joined Manchester City, only Chelsea (27) have won more matches in the FA Cup than the Citizens (26).

• Manchester City have won their last 10 away games in the FA Cup, a run that stretches back to February 2019 – the longest away winning run by a team in the history of the FA Cup.

Previous Meetings

• This is the first ever meeting between Bristol City and Manchester City in the FA Cup.

• The most recent meeting between these two sides were in the 2017/18 League Cup semi-final, with Manchester City winning both legs (2-1 home, 2-3 away).

Potential Landmarks

• Joao Cancelo – currently on-loan at Bayern Munich – is two appearances away from 100 in a Manchester City shirt.

• Erling Haaland is two goals away from 35 for Manchester City across all competitions.

• Kevin De Bruyne is three assists away from 20 for Manchester City across all competitions this season.

• Erling Haaland is three goal contributions away from 40 across all competitions for Manchester City this season.

• Riyad Mahrez is three goal contributions away from 20 across all competitions for Manchester City this season.