Newcastle United sent warning by Manchester City boss following ‘really good’ Bristol City display

A brace from Phil Foden and a late strike from Kevin De Bruyne secured the Citizens’ progress at Ashton Gate in a game that saw Kalvin Phillips play his first 90 minutes under Pep Guardiola. Whilst the FA Cup can be seen as a distraction and with a huge Premier League game with Newcastle on the horizon, Guardiola named a very strong squad for the game with Nigel Pearson’s side.

This decision may have backfired had his side picked up a couple of injuries, however, they all came out of the game unscathed and as he revealed post-match, Guardiola believes the side are slowly building momentum ahead of the business end of the season.

Asked about whether his players are returning to form at the right time of the season, Guardiola said: "We see it many times. Phil [Foden], Ruben [Dias] are back, Manu [Akanji] was outstanding.

“Nathan [Ake] all season has been top. Kev [De Bruyne] is back after his illness the second half was the Kev we know - the first half was so passive.

"We need his contribution. After illness and one week you can lose a little bit of rhythm. The 10/15 minutes Jack [Grealish] played was top. Too much high we need him in the process to play, in general.

“[Julian] Alvarez didn't score but he fought. Rico [Lewis] is maybe the player who touched the ball most. Everyone was really good."

Newcastle United, meanwhile, have never won a Premier League game at the Etihad Stadium.