Man City eye FA Cup success to save troubled season

LONDON – Manchester City will take on Bournemouth in the FA Cup quarter-finals aiming to keep alive their last chance of silverware in a turbulent season.

Pep Guardiola’s side are the last of the English Premier League’s big guns still standing as Nottingham Forest, Fulham and Brighton Hove Albion headline the tournament’s year of the underdog.

Here is a look at the key storylines ahead of the weekend’s action.

Bournemouth a threat to troubled Man City

In danger of enduring their first season without a major trophy since 2016-17, City will head to Bournemouth with some trepidation after losing at the Vitality Stadium earlier this term.

When Guardiola’s men were beaten 2-1 by Bournemouth in the Premier League in November, it was the first time in their history that City had lost to the Cherries.

The loss foreshadowed the team’s astonishing decline as they won just one of their next 11 games in all competitions.

After six English titles in the past seven seasons, City – languishing in fifth place in the Premier League – have been reduced to battling to qualify for next season’s Champions League and avoiding their first campaign without silverware since Guardiola’s maiden year at the Etihad Stadium.

A defeat at Forest and a draw with Brighton in their last two games serve as a reminder that Guardiola is yet to solve the litany of issues that have plagued City this season.

Suffering more misery on March 30 at Bournemouth – who have never reached the FA Cup semi-finals – would be another ignominious moment in a brutal season for the Spaniard.

Fulham bid to finally end FA Cup drought

Fulham will host Crystal Palace on March 29 with history in their sights, as the Cottagers look to end half a century of FA Cup futility.