Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is ready for a tough introduction to The Emirates FA Cup when his team kick-off the third round at West Ham United on Friday.
The Spaniard admits he’s looking forward to his first game in the competition, having watched on from afar over the years during his time with Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
But after being paired with a fellow Premier League team, Guardiola knows the Sky Blues will have to put on a performance if they are to progress.
"We will play against West Ham away and I will try to win that game,” said Guardiola, ahead of his side’s trip to the capital.
"It's a Premier League team away and we know from playing them, so it's tough and we want to try to continue in this competition.”
With City still chasing Chelsea for top spot in the Premier League going into the second half of the campaign, Guardiola admits he’s keen to pursue a run in The FA Cup.
And after previously sampling the respective cup competitions in Spain and Germany, he’s now looking forward to his involvement in the world’s original domestic cup competition.
"I lived in Spain and the cup is two games and two legs, so it's a little bit predictable what is going to happen,” he explained.
"In the Bundesliga, it's different and only one game and it's very special - the final is one game.
“And The Cup here is special because the lower teams can beat the big teams in one game, which is why it's so fascinating.
"That's why I'm looking forward to it.”
City’s game with West Ham kicks-off at 7.55pm tonight and will be shown live on BBC One.
