Flora Snelson – BBC Sport journalist
Fri, March 6, 2026 at 1:23 PM UTC
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has been speaking to the media before Saturday’s FA Cup fifth-round tie against Newcastle United at St James’ Park (kick-off 20:00 GMT).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
On playing Newcastle for the fifth time this season: “We know each other quite well. There are no surprises.”
In response to counterpart Eddie Howe’s comment that his team will need a bit of luck to come away with a result, Guardiola said: “When the margins are so tight, luck is important.”
Nico O’Reilly is feeling better and he’ll be assessed on Friday regarding his fitness for the FA Cup tie.
Guardiola noted that playing at 8pm is an advantage because the City squad can travel on Saturday (rather than Friday, as they do for a 3pm kick-off) but pointed out that it has the disadvantage of shrinking their recovery time for their Champions League game against Real Madrid on Wednesday.
When asked about his relationship with Howe, Guardiola said: “Pretty good – but I’ve never had dinner with Eddie. Some managers I have a relationship with for a long time. At the end of the day, we are rivals and we have to play against each other, but before and after the game it’s completely different.”
On how this game ranks in his priorities: “The FA Cup is so important. We travel to Newcastle to win the game, to get to the next round.”
Follow all of Friday’s Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day’s football news
How to follow the FA Cup fifth round on the BBC
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