LONDON – Manchester City expect Luton Town to provide a difficult challenge when they meet in the FA Cup fifth round, manager Pep Guardiola said on Feb 26.

City, who won their seventh FA Cup by beating Manchester United 2-1 in the 2023 final at Wembley, visit Kenilworth Road on Feb 27.

They won 2-1 at Luton in the league in December but Guardiola believes the promoted club, who are third from bottom in the standings, are much-improved.

“It doesn’t matter if you are playing a side at the top, bottom or middle of the Premier League. The challenge is to play without fear,” Guardiola said.

“They play via direct channels, but they have the ability; they have improved a lot in their build-up play since we played them last. They now play really good with the ball.

“It is a Premier League side away in the FA Cup, I would not expect it to be any different in all my years I have been here in England.”

City cut the gap to league leaders Liverpool to one point, after a 1-0 win at Bournemouth over the weekend.

Eyeing a fourth successive league title, City are second in the table with 59 points, one more than third-placed Arsenal.

Guardiola said the motivation to maintain their success after a treble-winning campaign remains the same.

“I don’t have any doubts that we are going to try. There are just two, two-and-a-half months of the season remaining and we arrive here,” the Spaniard added.

“From tomorrow, every game we play is like a final: the decisive part of the season is here, and we are going for it.

“When you play in the last 16 of any competition, we know how difficult it is, but it is a good test to find our rhythm, our mental consistency. To know what we have in the next month, everyone knows what we have to play for.”

As City prepare for the title run-in, they have received a boost with winger Jack Grealish and defender Josko Gvardiol closing on a return to action after injuries.

“We train this afternoon but I think everybody is fine,” Guardiola said. “He (Gvardiol) is good, I don’t know, but he is training without much pain.”

Meanwhile, Luton’s difficult run of fixtures continue after recent defeats by Manchester United and Liverpool. Four points from safety, they face fourth-placed Aston Villa in the league on March 2.

Manager Rob Edwards told the BBC: “It takes its toll, physically it’s difficult to go against Manchester United and then back that up a few days later against Liverpool.

“It was so intense. These are the most difficult games you can get. It does take its toll, but it’s a brilliant challenge.

“We have the same size squad as everyone else. I believe in the group we have. We can cope.”
REUTERS