After producing a seismic FA Cup shock in the fourth round, Plymouth Argyle must do it all over again as the Championship side take on Manchester City for a quarter-final place.
Miron Muslic’s second-tier strugglers stunned Premier League leaders Liverpool to continue their cup run and set up an encounter with another of the top flight’s giants. The hosts may be out of the chase for silverware in the league and Europe but Pep Guardiola’s side are looking stronger and stronger contenders in this competition as many of their rivals tumble out.
But their vulnerability was on display in a nervy outing against Leyton Orient in the previous round, and their visitors will hope to prey on any frailties this afternoon. Surely another giant-killing is beyond the Pilgrims? In this grand old competition, never rule anything out...
Follow all of the latest from the Etihad Stadium with our live blog below.
Man City vs Plymouth LIVE
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Manchester City take on Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup, with kick-off at 5.45pm | Live on ITV 4
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City overcame a fright against Leyton Orient in the fourth round as they hunt a third straight final
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Plymouth produced a huge cup shock against Liverpool to set up this tie
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Man City XI: Ortega; Lewis, Reis, Ake, O’Reilly, Gundogan, De Bruyne (C), McAtee, Bernardo, Grealish, Foden.
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Plymouth XI: Hazard; Tavolierov, Katic, Pleguezuelo; Mumba, Boateng, Gyabi, Ogbeta; Sorinola, Wright; Bundu.
Manchester City FC - Plymouth Argyle FC
Team news
16:59 , Chris Wilson
Plymouth manager Muslic has made six changes to the team that drew 1-1 against Cardiff City last time out.
In defence, Julio Pleguezuelo comes in for Victor Pálsson, while Bali Mumba and Nathanael Ogbeta come in at wing-back in place of Kornél Szűcs and Tymoteusz Puchacz.
In midfield, Adam Randell and Jordan Houghton drop out in favour of Malachi Boateng and Darko Gyabi, while Matthew Sorinola replaces Rami Al Hajj in the attacking midfield positions.
Team news
16:55 , Richard Jolly
Plymouth have already achieved something that Manchester City have not: they have beaten Arne Slot's Liverpool. And if some may point out that Plymouth beat a weakened Liverpool side while City lost 2-0 twice to the full-strength team, now it is a second-string City side.
Pep Guardiola has made 11 changes - even if that has enabled him to recall Kevin de Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden, among others. Plymouth are without the injured Ryan Hardie, their matchwinner against Liverpool.
Line-ups
16:52 , Chris Wilson
Plymouth XI: Hazard; Tavolierov, Katic, Pleguezuelo; Mumba, Boateng, Gyabi, Ogbeta; Sorinola, Wright; Bundu.
Subs: Grimshaw, Houghton, Szucs, Edwards, Al Hajj, Puchacz, Baidoo, Roberts, Palsson.
Line-ups
16:50 , Chris Wilson
Man City XI: Ortega; Lewis, Reis, Ake, O’Reilly, Gundogan, De Bruyne (C), McAtee, Bernardo, Grealish, Foden.
Subs: Ederson, Dias, Marmoush, Haaland, Doku, Nico, Gvardiol, Savinho, Nunes
Team news
16:40 , Chris Wilson
With line-ups due to be released in the next 5 minutes, here’s a reminder of the early team news...
Erling Haaland appears to be available for selection again after suffering a knee injury which ruled him out of City’s defeats to Real Madrid and Liverpool but John Stones will likely miss out after being substituted early against Madrid, and Manuel Akanji is also expected to be out well into April.
The squad named against Leyton Orient was a reasonably strong one, but 22-year-old James McAtee was handed a chance to impress in central midfield. 19-year-old Nico O’Reilly may start as Guardiola will be keen to get another look at his latest academy gem.
With Plymouth gaining a reputation as giant killers, though, Guardiola will not want to play things too safe. Omar Marmoush, Nico Gonzalez, and Savinho should all appear on the team sheet.
Pep Guardiola determined to avoid FA Cup upset against ‘tricky’ Plymouth
16:30 , Chris Wilson
Pep Guardiola has warned his Manchester City side any complacency could prove costly as they host Championship strugglers Plymouth in the FA Cup this weekend.
The Pilgrims have already shocked an albeit weakened Liverpool and Brentford in the competition this season and Guardiola does not want to become another high-level casualty as they clash in the fifth round.
City are enduring a difficult campaign by their own lofty standards and, with the Premier League title gone and the Champions League over, the FA Cup represents an opportunity to salvage something from the season.
Pep Guardiola determined to avoid FA Cup upset against ‘tricky’ Plymouth
Head-to-head
16:20 , Chris Wilson
Though these sides have met 20 times in the past, their last meeting took place as far back as 1989, when they met in the old Division Two.
Overall, City have won 11 previous meetings, with Plymouth winning five and four ending as draws.
Argyle’s last win against City came in January 1988.
The extraordinary Man City team discarded by short-sighted decisions
16:10 , Chris Wilson
As Manchester City’s 52-match unbeaten run at home came to an end, right-backs provided contrasting images. There was Pedro Porro, putting Tottenham 3-0 up with a fine finish, ensuring there would be no comeback. There was Kyle Walker, who saw Timo Werner scorching past him to set up the fourth.
In a parallel universe, Porro could have been Walker’s successor. He was a City player for three years, albeit in a distinctly modern way: bought from sister club Girona, loaned out and then sold without debuting, he produced another €10m for City in a sell-on clause when Tottenham bought him from Sporting CP.
The extraordinary Man City team discarded by short-sighted decisions
When is the quarter-final draw?
16:00 , Chris Wilson
The draw will take place after the conclusion of the match between Manchester United and Fulham at Old Trafford on Sunday, 2 March.
How can I watch the draw?
The draw will take place live as part of the BBC’s broadcast of the match between United and Fulham. That kicks off at 4.30pm, so the draw could take place around 7.30pm depending on whether the tie goes to extra-time.
FA Cup fifth round fixtures in full
15:50 , Chris Wilson
Here is a full list of the fixtures in the fifth round, with Aston Villa having beaten Cardiff yesterday and two fixtures taking place earlier.
Friday, 28 February
Aston Villa 2-0 Cardiff
Saturday, 1 March
Crystal Palace 3-1 Millwall
Preston 3-0 Burnley
Bournemouth vs Wolves - 3pm
Man City vs Plymouth Argyle - 5.45pm
Sunday, 2 March
Newcastle vs Brighton - 1.45pm
Man Utd vs Fulham - 4.30pm
Monday, 3 March
Nottingham Forest vs Ipswich Town - 7.30pm
FA Cup finally set to debut semi-automated offside technology in English football
15:40 , Chris Wilson
The FA Cup will welcome semi-automated offside technology for its English football debut.
Seven of the eight fifth-round ties will utilise the groundbreaking technology, which is designed to improve the efficiency of VAR checks.
Premier League stadiums will roll out the technology, however, the Preston vs Burnley tie is the only exception for the fifth round.
FA Cup finally set to debut semi-automated offside technology in English football
Liverpool stunned by Plymouth as quadruple hopes ended by FA Cup shock
15:30 , Chris Wilson
Here’s the match report from that famous Plymouth win...
Plymouth produced a huge FA Cup upset as Premier League leaders Liverpool were knocked out by the bottom club in the Championship to end hopes of a historic quadruple.
Liverpool boss Arne Slot gambled with a weakened side in Devon and literally paid the penalty as Ryan Hardie’s second-half spot-kick gave Plymouth a famous 1-0 win and sent them into the fifth round of the competition.
It was only the fourth time that the team starting the day at the top of the Premier League has been eliminated from the FA Cup by a side from outside the top flight.
Liverpool stunned by Plymouth as quadruple hopes ended by FA Cup shock
Giant-killers Plymouth face tough Man City tie as FA Cup fifth round fixtures confirmed
15:15 , Chris Wilson
Plymouth's reward for beating Liverpool in the FA Cup is a fifth round tie away to Manchester City.
The Pilgrims dumped the current Premier League leaders out of the competition with a 1-0 win on Sunday thanks to Ryan Hardie's second-half penalty, and will now head to the Etihad Stadium for a last-16 tie against the seven-time Cup winners, who had to come from behind to beat Leyton Orient 2-1 on Saturday.
Holders Manchester United have been drawn at home to Fulham. United beat Leicester 2-1 in controversial circumstances, with Harry Maguire appearing to be in an offside position as he headed in the stoppage-time winner at Old Trafford.
Plymouth face tough Man City tie as FA Cup fifth-round fixtures confirmed
Prediction
15:00 , Chris Wilson
With Manchester City out of the Champions League and unlikely to challenge for the Premier League their last chance at silverware comes in this competition. Pep Guardiola may make some changes but his team will be more than enough to sweep past the Championship side.
Man City 3-0 Plymouth Argyle.
Predicted Line-ups
14:50 , Chris Wilson
Manchester City XI: Ortega; Lewis, Khusanov, Reis, O’Reilly; Gonzalez, Gundogan; Grealish, McAtee, Savinho; Marmoush
Plymouth Argyle XI: Hazard; Talovierov, Katic, Palsson; Sorinola, Randell, Houghton, Puchacz; Wright, Al Hajj, Bundu
Team news
14:45 , Chris Wilson
Erling Haaland appears to be available for selection again after suffering a knee injury which ruled him out of City’s defeats to Real Madrid and Liverpool but John Stones will likely miss out after being substituted early against Madrid, and Manuel Akanji is also expected to be out well into April.
The squad named against Leyton Orient was a reasonably strong one, but 22-year-old James McAtee was handed a chance to impress in central midfield. 19-year-old Nico O’Reilly may start as Guardiola will be keen to get another look at his latest academy gem.
With Plymouth gaining a reputation as giant killers, though, Guardiola will not want to play things too safe. Omar Marmoush, Nico Gonzalez, and Savinho should all appear on the team sheet.
Is Manchester City vs Plymouth Argyle on TV?
14:35 , Chris Wilson
The FA Cup fifth round clash between Manchester City and Plymoutn Argyle takes place on Saturday 1 March from the Eithad Stadium in Manchester.
How can I watch the match?
The match will be shown on ITV4 and stream live on ITVX, with coverage starting from 5:00pm on Saturday 1 March. The match will kick off at 5:45pm at Home Park.
Man City vs Plymouth LIVE
14:25 , Chris Wilson
Plymouth Argyle have been offered another chance to extend their odds-defying FA Cup run as they welcome Pep Guardiola’s struggling Manchester City to Home Park.
Despite sitting 22nd in the Championship the Pilgrims are enjoying a dramatic cup run, having already knocked out two Premier League sides in Brentford and Liverpool.
The Liverpool upset was settled by a 53rd-minute penalty dispatched by Ryan Hardie. Arne Slot’s young Reds were unable to muster the necessary response, forcing a fingertip save from goalkeeper Conor Hazard in injury time.
Manchester City’s FA Cup campaign has not been without drama. Their round four tie away to Leyton Orient got off to a slow start when Tottenham loanee Jamie Donley’s halfway-line shot fell awkwardly, deflecting in off Stefan Ortega’s back. Despite struggling in the league, Guardiola’s squad managed to recover to win.
City’s form is at its worst since Guardiola arrived in 2016. Sitting fifth in the Premier League and 20 points adrift of the top spot, there is no better opportunity for Plymouth to turn them over.
Man City vs Plymouth LIVE
14:15 , Chris Wilson
Good afternoon and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of today’s FA Cup fifth round tie between Manchester City and Plymouth Argyle.
City come into the game having rediscovered some form, while Plymouth are hoping for a second giant-killing in a row having beaten Liverpool in round four.
And we’ll have all the latest build-up and updates right here.
