First up, we hear from the opposition.
Warnock has joked about his side’s training ahead of Sunday’s fourth-round tie, and the Daily Mail quoted the manager: “It’s been the easiest week of training.”
“We’ve just been chasing shadows to get used to it.
“We’ve haven’t had a ball out at all. It’s been great.
“We’ve just been throwing up a few pieces of paper in the wind for the players to chase.”
Joking aside, the manager has praised the Pep for turning up on a scouting mission to watch Cardiff’s third-round replay win at Mansfield.
“It was the coldest night of the year, really bad conditions,” Warnock said.
“He’s got hundreds of staff and yet he came to watch the two teams, and to me that is class.
“It is nice for me to manage against a team like that and work out how we can try and give them some sort of a game.
“I’d still probably rather be in his dressing room than ours, no disrespect to our lads.
“But at the same time I want us to try and show what we can do as well.”
Match of the Day commentator, Guy Mowbray, also delivered his thoughts on the upcoming clash, and believes both Guardiola and Warnock have similarities.
“For all their obvious differences, Neil Warnock and Pep Guardiola have one inescapable thing in common - they both get the absolute best from their squad of players,” Mowbray wrote for BBC Sport.
“That’s clear to everyone with Manchester City, but the majority watching won’t be as familiar with Cardiff.
“Third in the Championship, they’re responding superbly to the ‘Warnock way’, which on the surface seems a world away from Guardiola’s.
“The Bluebirds’ boss will love everything about this tie, with his excitement apparent as soon as Mansfield had been beaten in a third-round replay attended by Guardiola.
“There’ll be long balls, battles a plenty and a full Cardiff City Stadium.”
We finish up with a bit of transfer gossip now, as the January transfer window draws to a close in just a few days.
The Guardian has claimed in their report that Aymeric Laporte is set to arrive in Manchester next week.
“Manchester City have agreed a £57m deal for Athletic Bilbao’s Aymeric Laporte, with the defender set to arrive next week,” Mark Dobson and Fabrizio Romano write.
“The 23-year-old is expected to sign a five-year contract at the Etihad Stadium after City met the centre-half’s release clause and he will travel to Manchester early next week for a medical.
“Laporte was removed from the Bilbao side that drew 1-1 with Eibar on Friday night, fuelling speculation that a deal was done.
“After missing out on Virgil van Dijk and Alexis Sánchez in this transfer window so far the City head coach, Pep Guardiola, will welcome the defensive reinforcements with persistent injury doubts over Vincent Kompany.”
That’s all for your Saturday media round-up, but we will be back tomorrow before our FA Cup match for all the latest headlines from the back pages!
