Man City v Plymouth LIVE: FA Cup latest score and goal updates as Guardiola makes 11 changes

The hosts get us underway at the Etihad!

Both sides are in the tunnel at the Etihad now, so we aren’t far from kick-off in Manchester.

City’s only chance of a trophy this season is in this competition, though Pep Guardiola will be desperate to qualify for next season’s Champions League too.

The Cityzens sit in fourth in the Premier League at the moment, one point ahead of fifth-placed Chelsea.

With an exodus of players expected in the summer, a place in Europe’s main cup competition could prove vital as the club looks to rebuild the squad.

This match comes at an important time for the lower-tier side, with Argyle having climbed to 22nd in the Championship since Wayne Rooney left by mutual agreement in December.

The Pilgrims are just three points adrift of 21st-placed Hull City, having won two of their last five matches in the league.

New manager Miron Muslic made a couple of important signings in January, with Maksym Talovierov and Nikola Katic having bolstered the defence. Both were excellent against Liverpool, and Muslic will be hoping for a similar performance today.

City have won their last 18 FA Cup games against sides from a lower division by an aggregate score of 69-9, since losing 1-0 at Wigan Athletic in the 2017-18 fifth round.

Plymouth are looking to become the first team from outside the top-flight to eliminate Premier League opposition in three consecutive rounds since Wigan in 2017-18.

Plymouth have never won a major trophy, though they won League One as recently as 2022/23 and were in the final of the EFL Trophy that year as well (though they lost to Bolton).

The club’s greatest FA Cup run came in the 1983/84 season, when they reached the semi-finals, having beaten West Brom and Derby in preceding rounds.

In that match, they lost 1-0 to Watford at Villa Park, with the Hornets going on to lose 2-0 to Everton in the final.

This is just the second ever FA Cup meeting between Manchester City and Plymouth, with the Citizens winning a fifth round tie at Maine Road 3-1 in 1987-88 previously.

Plymouth have lost each of their last five meetings with Man City in all competitions.

Argyle have had 44 previous FA Cup ties against top-flight opponents, progressing from just four of these. However, two of those have come this season against Brentford and Liverpool.

As Plymouth Argyle captain Joe Edwards sits in the club’s Manchester hotel and the excitement builds, he finds there’s suddenly “a little bit more time to think”. There’s certainly a lot to reflect on ahead of an FA Cup fifth-round match against the English champions.

Should Plymouth beat Manchester City, it will not just be another huge upset. It will form an argument for one of the great cup runs, given that the 22nd-placed Championship side have already eliminated Brentford away and Liverpool at home. That has offered a sense of build-up in another way, given that it’s gone from one good Premier League side to the league leaders’ second string, but now a full-strength City away from home in a big evening match.

Plymouth manager Muslic has made six changes to the team that drew 1-1 against Cardiff City last time out.

In defence, Julio Pleguezuelo comes in for Victor Pálsson, while Bali Mumba and Nathanael Ogbeta come in at wing-back in place of Kornél Szűcs and Tymoteusz Puchacz.

In midfield, Adam Randell and Jordan Houghton drop out in favour of Malachi Boateng and Darko Gyabi, while Matthew Sorinola replaces Rami Al Hajj in the attacking midfield positions.

Plymouth have already achieved something that Manchester City have not: they have beaten Arne Slot’s Liverpool. And if some may point out that Plymouth beat a weakened Liverpool side while City lost 2-0 twice to the full-strength team, now it is a second-string City side.

Pep Guardiola has made 11 changes – even if that has enabled him to recall Kevin de Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden, among others. Plymouth are without the injured Ryan Hardie, their matchwinner against Liverpool.