Guardiola Focused on Newcastle, Not Treble Repeat

As Manchester City prepare to host Newcastle United in an FA Cup quarter-final clash on Saturday, manager Pep Guardiola is adamant his sights are solely set on the task at hand – not the potential of replicating last season’s historic Treble.

City became just the second English side ever to lift the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League in a single campaign in 2022/23. But despite their incredible form putting them in contention to achieve that remarkable feat again, Guardiola is taking it one game at a time.

“The last two or three weeks of the season, I’ll think about that,” the Spaniard said when asked about winning successive Trebles. “I don’t think about that. Now it’s about tomorrow’s quarter-final.”

It’s an approach that has served Guardiola’s Man City well over his trophy-laden seven years in Manchester. Laser-focused on each match, the 52-year-old has built one of the most dominant sides English football has ever seen.

But Newcastle will provide a stern test of that single-minded mentality on Saturday. Eddie Howe’s revitalized Magpies currently sit fifth in the Premier League and have already beaten Guardiola’s men 3-2 at home back in August.

“From minute one in the FA Cup, that was our aim – to return to Wembley,” said Howe. “We’ve navigated tough games and don’t want to waste this opportunity. We’ll attack it and try to progress.”

City will be without star midfielder Kevin De Bruyne due to a groin issue, while Ederson is also sidelined after suffering a leg injury in the 1-1 draw at Liverpool last weekend. Anthony Gordon and Dan Burn should return for Newcastle despite recent knocks.

While the mouth-watering prospect of retaining their trio of domestic and European titles looms large, Guardiola’s sole focus will be dismantling the Toon Army’s Wembley dreams this weekend. Only once that quarter-final hurdle is cleared can he realistically start plotting world domination again.