Hoping to cap off a strong run through the Capital One Cup with a championship, Barclays Premier League affiliate Manchester City will look to upend fellow BPL squad Sunderland in Sunday’s final at Wembley Stadium. City has surrendered just one goal in five Cup matches heading into the showdown against The Black Cats, claiming impressive wins over Wigan Athletic (5-0), Newcastle United (2-0), Leicester City (3-1) and West Ham United (6-0, 3-0 in semifinals), setting the club up with a golden opportunity to claim what could be the first of multiple trophies this season.
In addition to a brilliant showing during the 2014 Capital One Cup, Manchester City is also in the hunt for a Premier League title. Claiming the top honor two seasons ago, the current third place BPL squad watched as rival Manchester United hoisted another trophy last season but with Man U continuing to struggle this year under first-year manager David Moyes, Manuel Pellegrini’s side finds themselves in a four-way battle for the No. 1 slot with Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool. Even though the Capital One and BPL are separate outlets, the Man City boss says a win at Wembley could go a long way in determining how his club finishes in the English League.
“I will be very happy if we achieve the win because I think it reflects all your hard work from the year,” Pellegrini said. “I think we have played very well in the competition because we won all our games, scored 19 goals and conceded just one. I think it is very important to win the cup. It is always dangerous to play against any team. Sunderland also have a lot of motivation to win, exactly the same as we do. Maybe we are the favorites but we cannot forget that Sunderland eliminated Chelsea and Manchester United, big teams. They are defiant. I am sure it will be a very close game.”
Despite struggling mightily in the Barclays Premier League this season, Sunderland holds strong belief they’ll be able to prevent Manuel Pellegrini from claiming his first trophy in English football. Currently sitting 18th out of 20 teams in the English League, The Black Cats hope to avoid relegation and even though that stands as a definite possibility, first-year boss Gus Poyet is completely focused on claiming the Capital One Cup Sunday.
“It's going to be special," Poyet said. "This is my first season here and everything was very, very dark and sad when I arrived. Here and now we are 90 minutes, or 120, away from being the happiest people in England. The feeling of winning something is far beyond going down, spending two years in the Championship. Why? You need to be here for 20 years and feel it like them, or not reach a final for 15 years, or not win one for more than 40. What I like is to make people happy and there is no better way than by winning a final, I can tell you that.”
2014 Capital One Cup Final – Man City vs. Sunderland: DATE, TIME & TV INFO
DATE: Sunday, March 2
TIME: 9:00am, ET
TV COVERAGE: beIN Sports USA
LIVE STREAM: CLICK HERE
© 2024 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.