Sunderland plot Manchester City ambush in Sunday’s League Cup clash

MANCHESTER City are cast as potential Goliaths ahead of Sunday’s League Cup decider against Sunderland.

TEN months on from their shock FA Cup final defeat by Wigan Athletic, Manchester City are again cast as potential Goliaths ahead of Sunday’s League Cup decider against Sunderland.

As in May 2013, City are favourites against a team third last in the Premier League and in the relegation zone, but the experience of that rain-soaked Wembley day will steel them against complacency.

A stoppage-time Ben Watson header gave Wigan the biggest FA Cup final shock in 25 years and precipitated the departure of City coach Roberto Mancini, who was sacked two days later.

By then, City had already conceded the league title to Manchester United but, although Mancini’s successor Manuel Pellegrini has enjoyed a fine debut campaign, his side’s momentum has slowed recently.

They are only three points off the top in the league with a game in hand, but a recent home defeat by Chelsea exposed a vulnerability, while a 2-0 loss to Barcelona has left them on the verge of Champions League elimination.

City remain in FA Cup contention, with a chance of revenge against Wigan in the last eight, but a loss to Sunderland could have damaging implications for the last two-and-a-half months of the campaign.

News_Rich_Media: Manchester City swept to the English Premier League summit with a 5-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur.

Pellegrini has played down similarities with last season’s FA Cup final.

``I don’t like to talk with them about what happened last year but I am sure, for every player, it is a lesson.

``It is very beautiful to play for a title at Wembley and very awful to lose it.

``For all of them, it is not revenge - it is another team, another year, another situation - but I am absolutely sure all will be 100 per cent motivated to win.’’

Top scorer Sergio Aguero is a chance to play after missing the past five matches with a hamstring injury.

The Argentine’s absence coincided with the Chelsea and Barcelona losses and a 0-0 draw at Norwich City, but Pellegrini was reluctant to confirm whether Aguero would start against Sunderland.

Fellow striker Stevan Jovetic is out with a hamstring issue, while centre-back Matija Nastasic is still sidelined by a knee problem.

It will be Sunderland’s first visit to the new Wembley Stadium, which opened in 2007, and their first major final appearance since a 2-0 loss to Liverpool in the 1992 FA Cup.

At the old Wembley, in 1973, a second-tier Sunderland led by former manager Bob Stokoe stunned Leeds United to win the FA Cup.

It was the last piece of silverware Sunderland won.

In cup competitions this season, Sunderland have beaten Chelsea and Manchester United en route to the League Cup final and reached the FA Cup quarter-finals.