In your pre-final media round-up we hear from both managers and see what the papers are predicting from the clash!
First up we take a look at Mark Lawrenson’s prediction.
The BBC Sport pundit has revealed in his column that he believes City will lift the trophy after a 2-0 win against Arsenal on Sunday.
Lawrenson writes: “I won the League Cup with Liverpool on three occasions in the 1980s, and each time we won the league title too.
“It is great to be able to tuck it under your belt once you have won it, and it kind of kicks you on for the rest of the season.
“That is why I think this game is so important for Manchester City and their bid to win three trophies, because winning it would take a bit of the pressure off them.
“So far they have had a brilliant season but they have nothing to show for it yet - that can change this weekend.
“Will they win at Wembley? Yes. They can start again and really focus on this match after losing to Wigan - and I don’t see Arsenal stopping them.”
Very positive from the BBC broadcaster! Fingers crossed his prediction will be correct come tomorrow afternoon…
Next up, we hear from opposition boss Arsene Wenger, who has reflected on Arsenal’s route to meeting us in the final.
“We have certainly been economic [scoring six times en route to the final], because we’ve faced some good teams,” Wenger said, as quoted on Arsenal.com.
“I think we played against good sides, if you look well at our [path], it was not an easy one. We had to knock West Ham and Chelsea out. Overall I believe it doesn’t matter too much how you get to the final. Once you’re in the final, you want to win it.
Speaking in his recent press conference Wenger also reflected on the Gunners’ defeat in the League Cup final back in 2011.
“It’s true that I always used to use this competition with a youth team. For us it’s an opportunity. We’ll play with all the regular players. We go to Wembley and you want to win it, you want your fans to go home happy.”
Speaking in his recent press conference Wenger also reflected on the Gunners’ defeat in the League Cup final back in 2011.
“We gave soft goals away basically,” he said. “I remember that incident between Koscielny and Szczesny in the last minute of the game where we made a mistake at the back.
“Overall, I believe that the game was of quite good quality and Birmingham produced a good performance. I think we’ll be more in a position where Manchester City is favourite this time, so of course we have to raise our level to create the surprise.”
Finally, we turn our attention back to our potential Blues line-up on Sunday, as Pep Guardiola revealed that Gabriel Jesus could be in contention for a spot in the squad.
The Brazilian striker has been out since New Year’s Eve after he suffered medial collateral ligament damage in the draw at Crystal Palace but returned to training earlier this week.
Pep Guardiola says he will be assessed today before deciding on his involvement but believes his return from injury a huge boost to City’s season.
“We will see tomorrow [whether Jesus is fit enough],” Pep said. “He made the third training session and every day he is better.
“[Jesus’ return to fitness is] so important. When the people say the four titles can you do it, you have to have everything going for you.
“And when you don’t have your full-backs available, it’s harder. When you play every three days it’s so difficult. Vincent [Kompany] was injured a lot of times, Fabian [Delph] was injured.
“When you play one game a week, you can handle that situation without a problem.
“Sergio [Aguero] helped us incredible during the period Gabriel was out, but he needs to be fresh and that’s why it’s so important Gabriel is coming back. It’s so important.”
The boss also provided an update on Raheem Sterling, who was absent from the squad which recently faced Wigan in the Fa Cup.
“Raheem has a problem in the muscle,” Guardiola said. “He had problem against Basel
“Right now, I don’t know [if he will be fit for Sunday].
“We have another option [to cope with Delph’s absence]. We will decide the best one for the game, knowing our team, knowing the opponents.
“Fabian can’t play, so we need another option.”
That’s all for today’s media round-up, but we will be back on the big day tomorrow with all the latest headlines ahead of our Carabao Cup final clash!
