When it comes to third-round cup draws, drawing Manchester City is not something that many clubs would be particularly pleased about. Unfortunately for Preston North End, that’s precisely what happened.
The Lilywhites were the unfortunate side to draw the reigning champions for this round, with the two sides set to meet at Deepdale this evening.
They are likely to come up against a much-changed City side, with Pep Guardiola often electing to use the Carabao Cup as the place to give fringe players minutes and blood his plethora of talented youngsters.
Nonetheless, it is likely to be a challenging game for Preston, who currently sit third in the Championship table after picking up 18 points from a possible 24 so far this season.
Defender Patrick Bauer is having none of that talk, though, instead insisting that Preston can go the same way as Wigan and Norwich and best Guardiola’s side.
“It’s a dream draw. It is very special to play against the English champion,” he told Sports Buzzer.
“The anticipation of the team and the fans is huge. When I saw the draw on TV, I thought: Wow, there’s a really great game coming up.
“We do not think about that (the Watford result). We’ve won all our home games this season. Everything is possible in the cup.
“This was seen last year when Manchester City flew out of the FA Cup at Wigan Athletic. They lost to Norwich in the league. Nobody would have expected that either.
“I’m just looking forward to competing with superstars like Raheem Sterling or maybe exchange a few words with Guardiola. He also speaks German.”
