Tournament winners for the past two seasons, under the inspired stewardship of Pep Guardiola, City have become the standard bearers for the English League Cup.
Since a young City side lost 1-0 to United in a fourth-round encounter in October 2016 during the early part of Guardiola’s first season in charge, the Club have become a by-word for Carabao Cup success.
In the ensuing three and a half years since that 1-0 Old Trafford loss – or what will have been 1,222 days to be precise by the time of Sunday’s kick-off – the Club have gone from strength to strength in the competition.
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Our success in the 2018 Carabao Cup not only precipitated a period of sustained League Cup dominance but also served as the springboard for a haul of silverware unparalleled in the Club’s history.
That 2017/18 triumph was followed later that season by City going on to lift the Premier League and become the first English side to amass 100 points in the process.
The following campaign saw City retain the Carabao Cup, by virtue of an absorbing penalty shoot-out win over Chelsea, in the midst of an unforgettable season that saw us became the first side in history to win all four major English honours.
Now, we are just 90 minutes (hopefully!) away from what would be a third consecutive Carabao Cup success with Dean Smith’s Villa standing in our way at Wembley on Sunday.
Our trail to this season’s final saw us record a third-round win over Preston (3-0) and subsequent 3-1 successes against both Southampton and Oxford United.
We then secured a hugely impressive 3-1 victory away at Manchester United in the semi-final first leg before then being edged out 1-0 in the second leg, but still progressing 3-2 on aggregate.
The facts and figures of our Carabao Cup exploits make for some impressive reading.
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In total, we’ve won 17 out of 18 games in the competition since September 2017, albeit four of them on penalties after those matches finished in a draw, the only setback being that loss to United in the semi-final second leg.
We’ve scored 39 goals in the process, conceding just 10.
The Carabao Cup has also provided the platform for a succession of exciting young players to receive their inaugural taste of first team football.
In total, 39 players have figured for the Club in that long unbeaten run – with the competition offering debuts for Oleks Zinchenko, Eric Garcia, Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Tommy Doyle to name but a few.
If we were to taste success this season, it would be the seventh time in the Club’s history we would have won the competition and would mark our fifth success in seven years.
The way City have set about this season’s campaign, who would bet against us making it a hat-trick in the first weekend of March?
PLAYERS USED IN CARABAO CUP RUN:
Claudio Bravo; Danilo; John Stones; Eliaquim Mangala; Fabian Delph; Bernardo Silva; Yaya Toure Ilkay Gundogan; Raheem Sterling; Gabriel Jesus; Leroy Sane; Fernandinho; Kyle Walker; Tosin Adarabioyo
Oleks Zinchenko; Sergio Aguero; Kevin De Bruyne; Phil Foden; Brahim Diaz; Lukas Nmecha; Tom Dele-Bashiru
Nicolas Otamendi; David Silva; Vincent Kompany; Aro Muric; Riyad Mahrez; Adrian Bernabe; Claudio Gomes
Eric Garcia; Philippe Sandler; Ian Poveda; Benjamin Mendy; Felix Nmecha; Ederson; Aymeric Laporte, Angelino; Taylor Harwood-Bellis; Joao Cancelo; Tommy Doyle
RESULTS SINCE LAST KO IN 2016:
2017-18
Third Round: West Brom 1-2 City
Fourth Round: City 0-0 Wolves (won 4-1 on pens)
Quarter-final: Leicester 1-1 City (won 3-4 on pens)
Semi-final first leg: City 2-1 Bristol City
Semi-final second leg: Bristol City 2-3 City
Final: Arsenal 0-3 City
2018-19
Third Round: Oxford 0-3 City
Fourth Round: City 2-0 Fulham
Quarter-final: Leicester 1-1 City (won 1-3 on pens)
Semi-final first leg: City 9-0 Burton Albion
Semi-final second leg: Burton Albion 0-1 City
Final: Chelsea 0-0 City (3-4 on pens)
2019-20
Third Round: Preston 0-3 City
Fourth Round: City 3-1 Southampton
Fifth Round: Oxford 1-3 City
Semi-final first leg: Man United 1-3 City
Semi-final second leg: City 0-1 United
