TEAM NEWS
Padraig Amond will lead the Newport forward line and hope to maintain his record of scoring in every FA Cup round this season.
Defender Fraser Franks could keep his place after completing his first game in a month against MK Dons on Tuesday.
Pep Guardiola is set to make changes with one eye on Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Schalke and Sunday’s EFL Cup final.
Vincent Kompany remains sidelined along with Claudio Bravo and Benjamin Mendy.
MOTD COMMENTATOR’S NOTES
Jonathan Pearce: The last time these two met was October 1962 when Monster Mash was Top of the Pops. This will be one of the most monstrous shocks ever if Newport can win in their first fifth-round appearance in 70 years.
Beating Leicester and holding Spurs in back-to-back seasons provided wonderful memories. Manchester City could leave them with nightmares if they go even close to repeating their sumptuous form against Chelsea.
Pep Guardiola will make changes with Schalke and Chelsea in the League Cup final to come. But the squad is hugely powerful. Walker, Stones, Bernardo Silva and Jesus could all come in!
The pitch will be a factor and the atmosphere feverish but I can’t see a repeat of last season’s fifth-round City exit at Wigan.
VIEW FROM THE DUGOUT
Newport County manager Michael Flynn: “We’re playing the Premier League champions and arguably the best Premier League team ever.
“It would be the biggest shock in the history of the FA Cup.
“I know it’s easy for me to say, because I’m the underdog manager, but the way football has gone now with the finances and the gulf in facilities and resources they’ve got, the players they’ve got and the manager they’ve got – it will be the biggest FA Cup shock ever.”
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola: “We are going to suffer because they are taller and stronger than us. In some areas they will be better than us.
“They have done incredibly well in this competition. What they do, they do really well. We have watched many games to see what they do.
“It is the cup. We know what happened last season at Wigan. Anything can happen. We will take this very seriously, I am sure about that.”
LAWRO’S PREDICTION
Manchester City went out of the FA Cup to a League One team, Wigan, at this stage last season and City boss Pep Guardiola will be wary of another shock.
I think City will get the job done though. I cannot see Guardiola taking Newport too lightly.
Prediction: 0-2
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
- This is their first FA Cup meeting.
- The sides last met in a League Cup tie in October 1962, which Manchester City won 2-1 in Wales.
- City have won the three all-time meetings by an aggregate scoreline of 10-2.
Newport County
- They could become the first club from the fourth tier to reach the quarter-finals since Cambridge United in 1990, and only the fifth to do so overall.
- This is only Newport’s second appearance in the FA Cup fifth round – their first was a 3-2 defeat by Portsmouth in February 1949.
- Newport have won just two of their past 11 league games, drawing two and losing seven.
- They have only conceded two goals in seven home games in all competitions.
- Padraig Amond has scored five goals in his last eight FA Cup appearances, including in every round this season.
Manchester City
- City have won all three of their matches in February, scoring 11 goals and conceding just one.
- They have won their two FA Cup games this season by an aggregate score of 12-0.
- However, they’ve won just one of their last six FA Cup away games against sides from a lower division (D4, L1), losing their last such game against Wigan.
- Sergio Aguero has scored eight league goals for City in 2019 – double that of any other player.
- Ageuro’s tally of eight is as many league goals as Newport have managed in their league games in December, January and February combined.
Source: BBC News
