Sunderland plots City ambush in League Cup final
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Ten months on from its shock English FA Cup final defeat by Wigan Athletic, Manchester City finds itself again cast as a potential Goliath ahead of today’s League Cup decider against Sunderland.
As in May 2013, City will start as favorite against a team residing third from bottom in the English Premier League, but the experience of that rain-soaked Wembley day will steel it against complacency.
Then, a stoppage-time Ben Watson header gave Wigan victory, producing the biggest FA Cup final shock in 25 years and precipitating the departure of City coach Roberto Mancini, who was fired two days later.
By then, City had already conceded the league title to Manchester United, but although Mancini’s successor, Manuel Pellegrini, has enjoyed a fine debut campaign, his side’s momentum has slowed in recent weeks.
It is only three points off the top in the league with a game in hand, but a recent home defeat by Chelsea exposed hitherto unseen vulnerability, while a 0-2 loss to Barcelona has left it on the verge of elimination in the Champions League.
City remains in contention in the FA Cup, having been handed a chance of revenge against Wigan in the last eight, but a loss to Sunderland could have damaging implications for the last two and a half months of the campaign.
While Pellegrini has played down similarities with last season’s FA Cup final, he concedes that it could prove a source of motivation for his players.
“I don’t like to talk with them about what happened last year, but I am sure for every player it is a lesson,” the Chilean said at Friday’s pre-game press conference.
Today’s game will be Sunderland’s first ever visit to the new Wembley Stadium, which opened in 2007, and its first appearance in a major final since a 0-2 loss to Liverpool in the 1992 FA Cup.
The old Wembley held special memories for the club, however, as it was there in May 1973 that a second-tier side led by trilby-wearing former manager Bob Stokoe stunned the mighty Leeds United to win the FA Cup.
It was the last piece of silverware that Sunderland won, but 31,000 fans will travel to London today in anticipation of another famous upset.
Manager Gus Poyet, who succeeded the sacked Paolo Di Canio in October, continues to maintain that league survival remains his top priority, but he admits that he cannot ignore the romance of a trip to Wembley.
“It’s going to be special,” said the Uruguayan, who won the FA Cup at Wembley as a player with Chelsea in 2000.
“Firstly because I was not expecting this in my first season here, and secondly because everything was very, very dark and sad when we got here.
“Now we are 90 minutes away — or 120 — from being the happiest people in England.”
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