Good afternoon! Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for today's FA Cup fourth round clash between Cardiff City and Manchester City!

Yesterday saw plenty of upsets in this competition, with Liverpool and West Ham United both crashing out while a handful of other Premier League teams - including Tottenham - were held to draws by lower-league opposition. Manchester City will be looking to avoid a similar fate here as Cardiff bid to halt their quadruple dreams, and the Championship promotion hopefuls will be relishing the chance to knock the Premier League leaders off this afternoon.

We will take a closer look at both sides a little later, but first let's check out the team news...

MAN CITY STARTING XI: Bravo; Walker, Kompany, Otamendi, Danilo; Fernandinho, Gündogan, De Bruyne; Bernardo, Sterling, Sane

MAN CITY SUBS: Ederson, Stones, Agüero, Mangala, Adarabioyo, Zinchenko, Diaz

CARDIFF STARTING XI: Etheridge; Richards, Morrison, Ecuele Manga, Bennett; Paterson, Ralls, Grujic, Hoilett; Mendez-Laing; Zohore

CARDIFF SUBS: Murphy, Tomlin, Feeney, Pilkington, Halford, Damour, Bogle

What can we make of those two teams, then?

Well, the headline news predictably comes from the away camp as Sergio Aguero is dropped to the bench, and it is no surprise to see the Argentine rested considering he is the club's only senior striker available at the moment due to the continued absence of Gabriel Jesus through injury.

Opportunities for Aguero to be rested are few and far between, but he is on the bench today just in case he is needed - as he was the last time he was left out of the starting XI when he came on to score a late winner against Bristol City in the first leg of their EFL Cup semi-final.

Just as was the case in that Bristol City match, it appears as though Raheem Sterling will play as the furthest man forward for Man City today, and it is hard to argue against the winger's goalscoring record so far this season.

His pace is sure to cause problems for the Cardiff defence, particularly when combined with the speed and trickery of Bernardo Silva and Leroy Sane either side of him. Sane in particular has been sensational in recent weeks, scoring three goals and registering four assists in his six appearances so far in 2018.

Aguero may be benched today, with there are still plenty of big-hitters on show for Man City and joining Sterling and Sane in the side is Kevin De Bruyne, who has arguably been City's - some would say the Premier League's - best player this season.

De Bruyne missed the victory over Burnley in the previous round, but his starts this afternoon alongside Fernandinho and Gundogan in the midfield three.

Vincent Kompany is a notable inclusion at the back as he makes his latest return from injury, with John Stones dropping out of the team to make way for the club captain.

Kyle Walker starts once again despite having seemingly been struggling with a head injury towards the end of the EFL Cup win over Bristol City on Tuesday night, and Guardiola has made only four changes from that side, with Danilo, Gundogan, Kompany and Sterling all coming back into the lineup.

Cardiff are without Sol Bamba due to a knock this afternoon, which is a major blow for the Championship outfit. Bamba was described not too long ago as being a better defender than Liverpool's £75m signing Virgil van Dijk - albeit by the rather biased source of manager Neil Warnock - so they could miss him against City's fearsome attack here.

Ecuele Manga and Morrison are both able to start at the heart of the defence again, though, and it looks as though Cardiff will revert to four at the back, having played a three-man defence against Sheffield Wednesday last weekend.

Joe Ralls continues in the middle of the park following some doubt of his fitness in the buildup to this match, and his midfield partner has some experience as a top Premier League club, with Grujic currently on loan with the Bluebirds from Liverpool.

One loanee who does miss out this afternoon is Yanic Wildschut, though, as he is cup-tied having already featured in this competition earlier this season.

In all, Neil Warnock has made just two changes from the goalless draw with Sheffield Wednesday last time out as Bamba and Wildschut make way - two enforced changes for the hosts. Paterson returns to the side in place of the former, while Wildschut is replaced by Mendez-Laing for this afternoon's game.

There are also two changes from Cardiff's last FA Cup contest, with Damour and Pilkington being replaced by Grujic and Mendez-Laing.

With the exception of Bamba, Cardiff had no new injury concerns heading into this match, but one man absent from the squad is Kadeem Harris, who continues his recovery from a long-term ankle injury.

Harris finally made his first appearance of the season during the match with Sheffield Wednesday last time out, but this match comes too soon for him to be involved.

It is a certainly a daunting task for Cardiff this afternoon, but it is one they - and manager Neil Warnock in particular - will relish. Warnock revels in getting one over on the more glamorous opposition via his own tactics, and doing so against a Pep Guardiola side will be a huge feather in his cap.

It is hard to argue against the fact that Warnock's methods work too, with the veteran boss seemingly on course for another promotion push this season and it may not be long before we see him back in the Premier League again.

Warnock and Guardiola are both effective at what they do, but that is about where the similarities stop between the two managers, and the statistics from this season demonstrate that.

Despite their lofty league position, Cardiff have incredibly made fewer passes than any other team in the Championship this season, while their passing accuracy is also the lowest in the league at a measly 61.4%. It is perhaps no surprise that they average just 43% possession in Championship games this season too, which is the polar opposite of how Man City look to play.

This match pits together a complete contrast in styles, then, but Warnock will be relishing the challenge and, as mentioned, he could be coming up against the likes of Man City on a much more regular basis next season if all goes to plan over the next few months.

Cardiff currently sit third in the Championship table, but they are only two points off the automatic promotion places so, while leaders Wolves look to be out of sight, that second place is still very much up for grabs with third to fifth separated by only one point.

You will struggle to find a manager with a better track record of promotion than Warnock, but Cardiff's form has slipped recently and has threatened to derail their bid for an automatic route back into the top flight.

The Bluebirds have won just one of their last six Championship outings, picking up only four points from the 18 on offer during that spell, which included a run of four consecutive defeats. They have since ended that run, but it proved damaging enough for them to drop out of the top two.

Cardiff are unbeaten in four games across all competitions following that four-game losing streak, although two of those came in this competition as the Bluebirds needed a replay to get past League Two side Mansfield in the third round.

Mansfield held Cardiff to a goalless draw here in the initial tie before Warnock's side ran out 4-1 winners at the One Call Stadium to pick up their first win in their last five FA Cup outings. Cardiff had been knocked out in the third round in both of the last two seasons prior to this one, so even an exit this afternoon would represent an improvement.

The main beacon of hope for Cardiff comes from the fact that they are at home in this match, and they have only lost three of their 17 outings here at the Cardiff City Stadium across all competitions this season. Indeed, only Championship leaders Wolves have picked up more home points in the league than the Bluebirds this season.

However, two of those three defeats have come in their last four such games since Christmas, while they are winless in their last four FA Cup home games and have won just one of their last eight stretching back a decade.

Cardiff actually reached the final of this competition just 10 years ago, although you have to go all the way back to 1927 for the one and only time that they have ever lifted the trophy.

The Bluebirds also reached the final of the League Cup in 2012 before losing to Liverpool so, while they have been unable to break their long trophy drought, their record in cup competitions over the past 10 years or so has not been too bad for a club of their calibre.

Man City's record over the past 10 years has been significantly better, as you might expect, but they have not won this trophy since lifting it for a fifth time in 2010-11 which, for all the money which has been plied into the club, is quite a long drought.

That 2011 triumph is also their only success in the FA Cup since 1968-69, although they did reach the final in 2013 only to fall to a shock defeat at the hands of Wigan Athletic - now a League One side.

City will need to end that seven-year wait if they are to complete the unprecedented quadruple this season and, while there is a long way to go before that becomes a tangible possibility, Guardiola's side certainly look as well placed as any team in recent memory to achieve it.

The Premier League already looks to be wrapped up courtesy of their 12-point lead at the top of the table, while Tuesday's dramatic win over Bristol City saw them book their place in the EFL Cup final against Arsenal. The biggest question mark hangs in the Champions League, although City will be expected to at least reach the quarter-finals of that competition having been drawn against Basel in the last 16.

The air of invincibility surrounding City may have slipped slightly following their thrilling defeat at the hands of Liverpool a couple of weeks ago - their first domestic loss of the campaign - but they have quickly returned to winning ways since with victories over Newcastle and Bristol City.

Even with the defeat, Man City's record is remarkable; Guardiola's side have won 11 of their last 13 games across all competitions and 36 of their last 40 stretching back to last season, drawing twice and losing just twice in that time.

One growing concern for Guardiola may be his side's defensive dip in form, with City failing to keep a clean sheet in any of their last six matches - their longest run since one of eight in December 2016.

Away from home there are also one or two signs of a slight slump in form, with City's last five away outings seeing them need penalties to beat Leicester, scrape past Newcastle, narrowly avoid defeat in a 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace, lose to Liverpool and then need a 96th-minute winner to beat Championship side Bristol City.

City have now conceded six goals in their last two away games, although any criticisms of Guardiola's team at the moment need to be taken with a pinch of salt as, at the end of the day, they are still by far the best team in England right now.

Indeed, they boast comfortably the best away record in the Premier League and have won 15 of their 18 away games across all competitions, so it is far from panic time for Guardiola's side despite that dip in form.

City are also unbeaten in their last four FA Cup away games and have only lost once on the road inside normal time in this competition in their last 14 such games - a run which stretches back almost exactly a decade.

That solitary defeat was a heavy one at the hands of Chelsea in the 2015-16 fifth round, but since that 5-1 reverse Man City have kept four consecutive away clean sheets in this competition.

City are today bidding to reach the fifth round for the fifth time in the last six seasons, and they made it all the way to the semi-finals last term before being knocked out at Wembley by eventual champions Arsenal after extra time.

Man City faced Premier League opposition in the shape of Burnley in the third round this season and trailed at half time following an under-par display, only to take things up a gear in the second half and eventually run out 4-1 winners.

PREDICTION: Right, we're 10 minutes from kickoff at the Cardiff City Stadium, which means that it is time for a prediction!

Cardiff will look to unsettle Man City today with plenty of high balls and aerial battles, but the stats suggest that they may not see much of the ball and if it just keeps coming back at them then Man City will surely break them down sooner or later. I expect the hosts to make it as difficult as they can for their glamorous visitors, but I am still backing an away win.

SPORTS MOLE SAYS: Cardiff 0-2 Man City

This will be the 50th meeting between the two sides across all competitions, and Manchester City have had the better of the previous 49 with 20 victories to Cardiff's nine, although there have also been 20 draws.

The most recent clash came in the Premier League four years ago, when Dzeko, Navas, Toure and Aguero were all on the scoresheet for City as they ran out 4-2 winners at the Etihad Stadium, with Craig Noone and Fraizer Campbell responding for the Bluebirds.

Cardiff will have fond memories of this fixture too, though, having registered their first ever Premier League win against Manchester City back in August 2013.

Campbell was again on the scoresheet on that occasion, helping himself to a brace after Aron Gunnarsson has also scored, with Cardiff finding the back of the net three times in the final half an hour. Dzeko and Negredo also scored for Man City, but it was not enough to prevent Cardiff from registering a famous 3-2 win.

Man City have actually only won one of their last four meetings with Cardiff, although this fixture has scarcely taken place in the last few decades.

This will be the 10th FA Cup meeting between the two sides, with Cardiff winning just one of the previous nine whereas Man city have won four, with four draws too. Cardiff's solitary win did come in the most recent FA Cup edition of this fixture, though, with the third-tier Bluebirds knocking out top-flight Man city with a 1-0 win at this stage in January 1994.

Right, the players are on their way out to the pitch and we're just about ready to get started here! A quick reminder of the team news before we do get underway...

CARDIFF STARTING XI: Etheridge; Richards, Morrison, Ecuele Manga, Bennett; Paterson, Ralls, Grujic, Hoilett; Mendez-Laing; Zohore

MAN CITY STARTING XI: Bravo; Walker, Kompany, Otamendi, Danilo; Fernandinho, Gündogan, De Bruyne; Bernardo, Sterling, Sane

KICKOFF: Here we go! Cardiff get us underway in South Wales!

Cardiff come forward for the first time as Mendez-Laing's pace leaves Danilo in his wake. He plays a low ball into the box, but Hoilett cannot make anything of it.

SAVE! Man City quickly respond with their first sight of goal as they attack down the right flank. Walker plays the ball into the box and Bernardo gets a flick onto it, but it lacks the power to really trouble the keeper.

CHANCE! Brilliant football from Man City as they cut through the Cardiff defence down the left flank. Danilo pulls the ball back to Gundogan, who takes a touch before drilling an effort straight at the keeper. Moments later Gundogan is then fouled right on the edge of the area, giving Man City a free kick in a dangerous position.

Gundogan has stayed down after that challenge and requires treatment. He is holding his foot, but it looks as though he will be able to carry on.

Cardiff are punished from the free kick with a moment of magic from Kevin De Bruyne, who rolls the ball under the wall and in. Everyone in that Cardiff wall jumped and were caught out by the Belgian, giving Man City a perfect start to this match.

That was brilliantly executed from De Bruyne. You could argue that Cardiff - knowing the Belgian's quality, could have had someone designated to block such an effort, but take nothing away from the midfielder.

Man City get in behind again here as De Bruyne picks out a peach of a pass for Walker, who suddenly finds himself in the box down the right channel. He has time to look up and pick a pass, but the movement is lacking and his cross is blocked.

Cardiff just cannot get hold of the ball at the moment. There was always the danger that it would be like this, with Man City keeping the hosts pinned back and unable to get out. It is one-way traffic at the moment.

CHANCE! Half a chance for Man City as Gundogan makes a run to the near post and gets a glancing header on the ball, but he flicks it over the crossbar.

CLOSE! The Cardiff fans think that they have an equaliser out of nothing here, but the referee and his assistant rule that the ball did not cross the line! It was Hoilett's effort from distance which Bravo spilled, but the City keeper just about recovered in time to prevent it from creeping over the line!

This is a really good spell of pressure from the hosts and a long throw into the box causes all sorts of problems for Man City here before they are eventually able to hack the ball clear.

CLOSE! So close for Cardiff! Bennett beats Walker down the left flank before playing an early ball into the box, but an unmarked Paterson is inches away from connecting with it in the middle.

Man City come forward again as Gundogan is left in acres of space to carry the ball into the Cardiff half. He eventually finds Walker who lines up a long-range shot, but he drags his effort and it is cleared away.

Cardiff have at least reached the quarter-way mark of this match without any further damage after that early De Bruyne goal, but they are very much on the back foot and hanging on right now.

DISALLOWED GOAL! Confusion reigns here as everything thinks that Man City have doubled their advantage through a brilliant Bernardo Silva strike. The winger brings the ball forward and cuts inside before slamming an unstoppable strike in off the underside of the crossbar.

It looks like a perfectly good goal, but the linesman has his flag up. Lee Mason goes over to his linesman to discuss the issue and then seemingly gives the goal, causing the Man City players to celebrate for a second time. The replay appears to show nothing wrong with it, but then play restarts with a free kick so it isn't given after all! The only thing it could have possibly been is an offside against Sane, but he was not exactly interfering in play and he didn't even appear to be offside! It is a shocker from the officials!

Man City win another free kick in a dangerous area, but before it can be taken Lee Mason wants a word with Guardiola, who is understandably angry on the sidelines.

SHOT! Gundogan goes for goal from the free kick this time, but his curling effort goes over the crossbar.

SHOT! Sterling is the latest to have a sight of goal from outside the area, but his drive takes a slight deflection on its way over the crossbar.

After all the controversy surrounding VAR yesterday, we could have done with it then. Even without it there was confusion over what was happening, but at the very least it would have come up with the correct decision, which would have been a second Man City goal.

Man City continue to dominate the possession here, but they will want a second goal before half time. Cardiff have actually done a good job of limiting the visitors to largely long-range shots, although they have been given a helping hand by the officials too.

Cardiff need to hold more of the ball here as it just keeps coming back at them at the moment. Surely it is only a matter of time before the visitors double their lead if it stays like this.

Man City do have their second goal, and this time it will count!

Danilo slides a pass down the left touchline for Bernardo Silva, who takes one look up before whipping his cross into the middle. Sterling has peeled off Manga in the middle and is completely unmarked as he rises in the area and plants a downward header into the bottom corner.

That may well be game over for Cardiff. It will, of course, all change if they get the next goal, but on the evidence of this opening 40 minutes it is hard to see them getting back into this game.

Man City are just knocking the ball about at walking pace now. They have all the time in the world in possession, with Cardiff wary of coming to meet them and breaking rank.

This break almost seemed to be in fast-forward as Sterling, De Bruyne and Sane are all involved. Sane is eventually closed down, though, and Danilo ends the attack by hammering a cross out for a goal kick.

This has been a very comfortable half for Man City - perhaps more so than they would have been expecting. The hosts have simply been outclassed so far, and they have been unable to make things as difficult as they would have liked.

YELLOW CARD! Sane goes tearing forward, picking the ball up deep inside his own half an carrying it all the way to the edge of the area before being brought down by a horrible challenge from Bennett. It should be a red card, but Lee Mason only produces a yellow.

There will be three minutes of stoppage time at the end of this first half.

The first half comes to an end at the Cardiff City Stadium and it is Manchester City who are in complete control of this FA Cup tie.

The visitors have been by far the better team and have a two-goal lead at the interval which should be even more, but for a terrible decision from the officials. It looks like being a long afternoon for the hosts, who haven't shown many signs of getting back into the game.

The opening goal arrived after only eight minutes, and it was a moment of individual brilliance from De Bruyne which provided it too.

Gundogan was brought down right on the edge of the box and, recognising that he may not have enough space to get it over the wall and back down again, De Bruyne instead rolled it under the jumping wall and into the bottom corner, with the keeper left helpless.

It should have been 2-0 in the 25th minute when Bernardo Silva smashed one in off the underside of the crossbar, but the linesman had his flag up despite referee Lee Mason initially seeming to signal that it was a perfectly good goal.

After a moment of confusion the goal was eventually disallowed, although it was a poor decision from the officials, who deemed Sane to have interfered with play by running across the path of the shot. It was debatable whether Sane was even interfering in play, but the replays also showed that Sane was not even offside.

The second goal did eventually come with eight minutes remaining of the first half, with Bernardo turning provider on this occasion.

Danilo's pass released the winger down the left flank and he whipped an early cross into the box for an unmarked Sterling. Sterling rose to plant a header into the bottom corner - his first headed goal for two years and only the second of his entire career.

KICKOFF: Manchester City get us back underway for the second half, and the visitors have made a change at the break with Sergio Aguero replacing Sane, who cannot have recovered from that horrendous challenge from Bennet just before the break.

Aguero, by the way, has 16 goals in 16 FA Cup appearances, which is a post-war record for Manchester City. Not the man Cardiff want to see come on when they have been utterly outplayed so far.

Kevin De Bruyne has been everywhere today. He has popped up at right-back on numerous occasions and then suddenly finds himself in the left channel ready to play the ball into the box. It has been another fine performance from the Belgian.

Cardiff have the chance to put the ball in the box from a deep free kick, but it is overhit and goes straight behind for a goal kick.

CHANCE! Brilliant defending from Morrison to deny Man City a certain goal! A free kick is taken quickly to send Sterling in behind and he beats the keeper to the ball, taking it around the keeper. Morrison makes a last-ditch sliding challenge to deny Sterling a simple finish into the empty net, though.

The tackles are flying in from Cardiff now, with a number of Man City players being left in a heap on the floor. Sane has already felt the full force of one of those and Guardiola may be concerned about suffering further damage now.

CHANCE! Half a chance for Cardiff here as a long ball forward is flicked on for Zohore, but he fires his half-volley wide of the near post.

Otamendi is the latest Man City player to be left writhing in pain on the floor having been caught lare by Zohore, although I suspect he is not in quite as much pain as his reaction suggests. Lee Mason certainly seems to be giving him very little sympathy.

Just half an hour left in this one now and still there aren't many signs that Cardiff are going to haul themselves back into this one. Man City may want one more goal just to make sure, but they're in complete control here.

Man City are playing this game completely at their own tempo. They are so comfortable at the moment and Cardiff need to do something to disrupt that. The hosts are going down with a whimper at the moment.

Man City have had the ball for more than three minutes without Cardiff getting a touch on it, and most of those have come between the two centre-backs and the goalkeeper. Cardiff simply have to put more pressure on.

SAVE! This is more like it from Cardiff. A long ball forward is again flicked on it Zohore, who dummies his way past Otamendi before drawing a save from Bravo with his eventual 20-yard effort.

CARDIFF SUB: The hosts make their first change of the match as Zohore is replaced by Anthony Pilkington.

Pilkington almost makes an immediate contribution as he latches onto a knockdown inside the area, but he cannot hook his foot around the ball to steer his half-volley on target.

CLOSE! Cardiff are starting to knock on the door here! Hoilett picks the ball up on the left flank and cuts inside before drilling a brilliant strike towards goal. For a moment it looks like it is destined for the top corner, but with Bravo beaten his effort ripples the top of the net on its way over.

Aguero breaks forward down the right flank before cutting back inside and playing a one-two with Sterling. He then beats Manga again on the byline, clashing heads along the way, but Man City only get a corner out of it.

Big shout for handball from Cardiff as Morrison pokes the ball inside and Walker blocks it behind for a corner. Lee Mason says no, though, and this time the replay proves him right.

De Bruyne collects the ball on the left flank and cuts inside before working space to shoot. It is an ambitious place to shoot from, even for him, and his effort is blocked before it can test the keeper.

CHANCE! De Bruyne sends another sensational defence-splitting pass down the middle for Sterling to race on to, but the winger is thwarted by the keeper while under pressure from Morrison too.

YELLOW CARD! Ecuele Manga goes into the book for a challenge on Aguero, catching the striker on his ankle. That is another nasty one.

CARDIFF SUB: A second change for the visitors as Mendez-Laing is replaced by Liam Feeney.

Aguero needed treatment after that challenge from Manga, with Guardiola watching on with concern from the touchline. The Argentine should be able to continue, though.

YELLOW CARD! Fernandinho is the latest name in the book for a cynical trip from behind.

Otamendi is beaten all ends up by Feeney, who reaches the byline before standing a cross into the middle which Kompany does just about enough to prevent Paterson heading in.

Cardiff have managed to avoid any further damage in this second half, but that is all you can really say about this period. It has been almost like a training exercise for Man City.

CHANCE! Man City should be three ahead as Bernardo races forward, with no Cardiff defender closing him down. The winger has the bottom corner to aim at having made it all the way to the edge of the box, but he puts his finish far too close to the keeper, who makes the save.

Claudio Bravo is put under pressure by two Cardiff attackers, but he turns away from one and then manages to get his pass away as well.

CHANCE! Etheridge is now the man keeping the score down, this time deying Danilo. Gundogan slides a pass through to the marauding full-back, but his low drive is well kept out by the Cardiff keeper.

CARDIFF SUB: Third and final change for the hosts as Loic Damour is introduced.

MAN CITY SUB: Man City also make a change, with Brahim Diaz coming on in place of Bernardo.

There will be three minutes of added time in this match as Aguero blasts a decent chance well over the crossbar.

Well, Bennett should have been sent off at the end of the first half but he finally gets his red card at the end of the second half instead for another poor challenge from behind on Diaz.

Manchester City safely book their place in the fifth round of the FA Cup, then, and in truth it never looked in doubt from the moment De Bruyne brilliantly rolled an early free kick under the wall and in after only eight minutes.

Raheem Sterling went on to add a second in the first half as Man City comfortably saw out the victory over their Championship hosts, who ended the game with 10 men courtesy of a late Bennett red card.

Right, that is all we have time for this evening!

Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for this afternoon's FA Cup fourth round clash as Man City outclass Cardiff to coast into the next stage courtesy of goals from De Bruyne and Sterling. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction too.

From me, though, it is goodbye for now.