Manchester City cannot afford to look past Wolves despite having the FA Cup final on the horizon | OneFootball

Manchester City qualified for their third consecutive FA Cup final with their 2-nil win over Nottingham Forest last weekend. They will take on Crystal Palace at Wembley on May 17. But that game is still two weeks away. Pep Guardiola’s side has two pivotal Premier League fixtures to play before they take on Crystal Palace. They face Wolverhampton Wanderers and Southampton in their next two Premier League fixtures. Both games are must-win fixtures for Pep Guardiola’s side. But beginning tonight, City cannot afford to look too far ahead. Wolves come to the Etihad tonight and will pose a tough test for Manchester City.

Wolves enter tonight’s match in red-hot form.

Wolverhampton Wanderers have won their past six Premier League matches. During that run, they have beaten Leicester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Ipswich Town, West Ham and Southampton. Under manager Vitor Pereira they have come to life of late. Since Pereira has taken over as Wolves manager they have risen to 13th on the Premier League table. Pereira has them playing well and they are a team full of quality on the pitch.

A look at the Wolverhampton Wanderers squad shows the quality they possess. Up front, Matheus Cunha and Jørgen Strand Larsen will test City’s defence. In midfield, Joao Gomes and André have the guile, toughness and quality to dictate the midfield battle tonight. In Rayan Ait-Nouri and Nelson Semedo, Wolves have two quality wing-backs to provide an attacking threat. At the back, they are solid, and in José Sá, they have one of the better keepers in the Premier League in their lineup. They aren’t a side that Manchester City can take lightly or look past. If City do that they could stumble in their bid to secure Champions League football for next season.

Pep Guardiola is solely focused on Wolves and not the FA Cup final.

Speaking during his pre-game press conference yesterday ahead of tonight’s clash with Wolves, Pep Guardiola was asked about the upcoming FA Cup final. The Manchester City manager was only focused on Wolverhampton Wanderers and nothing else. He told the media: “Now we can’t be distracted for anything else. It’s Wolves, Wolves and Wolves. The rest we have time to think about it and day by day, see in the training sessions, [and speak with the] the physios, doctors.”

For now, the FA Cup final can wait. There are more pressing matters for Manchester City to address tonight against Wolves. The time to worry about Wembley’s showpiece event will come. When that time comes here is a great guide on how to get tickets to the FA Cup Final can be found on CaughtOffside. But Pep Guardiola’s side must keep winning to maintain their hold on a place in next season’s Champions League. If they start looking ahead it could bite them hard. Wolves are red-hot at the moment and City can’t afford to look ahead to the FA Cup final just yet.