Three Key Takeaways: Citizens Face F.A. Cup Replay vs. Huddersfield

February 18th 2017, Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England; 5th Round FA Cup football, Huddersfield versus Manchester City; Manchester City’s Fabian Delph and Huddersfield’s Philip Billing jump for the ball (Photo by Kurt Fairhurst/Action Plus via Getty Images)

Pep Guardiola‘s Manchester City were held for a 0-0 draw at second-tier Huddersfield Town on Saturday in their English F.A. Cup fifth-round match.

The Citizens were hoping to grab a win and rest some players also for Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League Round of 16 first leg vs. Monaco. Coming into this match for four consecutive wins in all competitions, City were favorites despite being on the road.

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David Wagner‘s side were winners of six straight in all competitions, which saw them also jump to third in the EFL Championship.

Claudio Bravo got the nod in goal, while Nicolas Otamendi partnered with John Stones in defense. Fabian Delph and Fernando were brought into the midfield, while Jesus Navas and Nolito got starts on the wings.

The opening 10 minutes saw both teams with early chances, as Bravo was forced into an easy save while Nolito also had his chance saved. Huddersfield’s Jack Payne had a strong left-footed effort saved by Bravo later in the half, while Fabian Delph and Sergio Aguero also saw their chances saved by Joel Coleman.

Both sides made several changes after the halftime break, to try and break the 0-0 deadlock. Leading scorer Elias Kachunga and Nakhi Wells were brought on by the hosts, while Kevin De Bruyne and Leroy Sane were brought on by Guardiola.

Neither side really threatened offensively in the second half, while they both lacked the final product. Nicolas Otamendi saw a great chance for a 94th minute winner headed just wide. At the final whistle, the teams had to settle for a 0-0 draw and a replay at the Etihad Stadium.

The Citizens out-possessed Huddersfield 63%-37%, while forcing five efforts on-goal. Bravo made three saves, while Coleman made five.

Following the draw, Pep Guardiola told BBC Sport he was not disappointed with the result. “It is not frustrating, it was a tough game against one of the best teams in the Championship. Two days ago there was a rugby game on the pitch which made it slow but we made a good performance. They are a really good team, congratulations to Huddersfield. When you play against teams at the top of the Championship, it is obviously difficult. There were no complaints, my team did what I asked them to do.”

After an entertaining draw at the John Smith Stadium, here are my three key takeaways.

1.) Manchester City lacked the final product, but overall did good.
It may not be the result that Pep Guardiola wanted, but a draw and a replay is for sure better than a defeat. Huddersfield Town are striving for promotion to the Premier League and have been playing strong the past few months. They were able to frustrate Manchester City at times, while posing a threat on the counter-attack. Sergio Aguero did well up top, while supporting players like Nolito and Fabian Delph also shined in their appearances. They will need to be better in front of goal if they want to advance in this competition, but overall today’s draw was not the worst thing that could have happened.

2.) Hats off to Huddersfield on a strong showing at home.
Previously stated, Huddersfield have done well these past few months and deserved a replay. David Wagner has done a good job of getting his players to focus for this fixture, especially with a heavy workload in the Championship. Despite making seven changes to his line-up, Wagner was able to get his team motivated for this match and they were able to hold a top team like Manchester City. The addition of a replay to their brutal schedule however will force Wagner to rotate his players with care.

3.) Look for Manchester City to come out firing in the replay.
Due to their previously scheduled league meeting with Manchester United on the 26th cancelled, Pep will not have more time in between games. United, play in the EFL Cup final that day so their match had to be postponed. The replay, which is slated for either February 28th or March 1st now gives Pep a week off after Tuesday’s home meeting with Monaco. With a rocking Etihad Stadium supporting the lads to advance, I expect Pep to play a much-stronger line-up from the get go to avoid going into extra time or penalties.

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Manchester City have to rest up and regroup quickly, as they welcome Monaco to the Etihad on Tuesday. With a huge chance to advance in the Champions League, I expect Pep to name a stronger starting XI than he did today.