Pep Guardiola has said Manchester City are currently not at the level required to win the Premier League title. Man City can go top of the Premier League, albeit potentially just for a few hours, with victory over West Ham at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

This Carabao Cup quarterfinal between Manchester City and Brentford takes place at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday, Dec. 17. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. GMT local time in the UK, which is 2:30 p.m. ET or 11:30 a.m. PT in the US, and is a 6:30 a.m. AEDT start on Thursday morning in Australia.

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has been speaking to the media about goalscorer Rayan Cherki: "To shoot from close to the 18-yard box of the opponent, he is an exceptional player. It was a fantastic goal, even a blind guy or a blind woman can realise that. It is not necessary to be a journalist or a manager to realise he is a fantastic player.

Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca said Friday he had “no time” for reports linking him to the Manchester City job. A report by The Athletic this week said Maresca was high on the list of candidates to take over at City when Pep Guardiola walks away.

Manchester City survived a few early scares before eventually coasting to a 3-0 victory over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Sunday, led once again by goal-scoring extraordinaire Erling Haaland.

Man City XI: Trafford, Lewis, Khusanov, Ake, O'Reilly, Gonzalez, Reijnders, Bobb, Cherki, Savinho, Mukasa. Subs: Donnarumma, Dias, Haaland, Bernardo, Gvardiol, Nunes, Foden, Gray, Mfuni. Brentford XI: Valdimarsson, Henry, Van den Berg, Collins, Ajer, Kayode, Jensen, Yarmoliuk, Damsgaard, Janelt, Schade.

The Cityzens have made little impact in the competition since their four successive triumphs between 2018 and 2021, though they are always a contender despite often rotating their playing squad. Should they eventually triumph at Wembley, Pep Guardiola would secure a 19th piece of silverware since taking charge of the club.

Will the Bowen-Wilson partnership cause an upset? Or will Man City keep cranking up the pressure on leaders Arsenal.

Holders Newcastle United face eight-time winners Manchester City in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup while Chelsea take on Arsenal or Crystal Palace.