Manchester City vs. Sunderland: Live Player Ratings

Will Sunderland's fairy tale cup dreams come true?

Gus Poyet's remarkable turnaround at the Black Cats, following the chaos of Paolo Di Canio, could be crowned in historic fashion if he leads his troops past a formidable Manchester City on Sunday.

Manuel Pellegrini's men are the favourites on paper, but the term "Cupset" exists for a reason. We'll be providing live player ratings—at half-time and full-time!—so stay tuned.

Manchester City

Player	Position	H/T Rating	F/T Rating
Subs
Pantilimon	GK	6	6
Zabaleta	RB	6	6
Kompany	CB	6	7
Demichelis	CB	5	6
Kolarov	LB	6	7
Nasri	RM	6	6
Toure	CM	6	7
Fernandinho	CM	5	6
Silva	LM	6	6
Aguero	ST	6	6
Dzeko	ST	4	4
Navas	RW	N/A	7
Garcia	DM	N/A	6
Negredo	ST	N/A	N/A

Pantilimon: Helpless for the goal, and aside from that rarely saw the ball. Palmed a few efforts over the bar.

Zabaleta: Overlapping from the right often, improved immeasurably in the second half.

Kompany: Beaten for pace and strength over the top for Fabio Borini's strike. Recovered brilliantly to prevent his side going 2-0 down.

Demichelis: Another calamitous-looking showing from the Argentine in the first half. Showed great awareness in the second half to lead the offside trap.

Kolarov: Got forward early on but had little effect. Drilled in a low cross for Samir Nasri's winning goal.

Nasri: Took up good positions early on but drifted out of the game. Scored a cracking goal in the second half.

Toure: Far from his dominant, imposing self, but scored a scorcher to draw City level in the game. The Wembley king.

Fernandinho: Not his best game by any stretch; exposing his midfield to runs too often.

Silva: Failed to take hold of the game and dazzle us with his talents. Not able to get on the ball in the right areas.

Aguero: Looked lively and his pace is a weapon, but only managed 60 minutes on his return from a hamstring injury.

Dzeko: Very ineffectual from the BIH international; struggled to drop in and help midfield, made no runs.

Sunderland XI

Player	Position	H/T Rating	F/T Rating
Subs
Mannone	GK	7	7
Bardsley	RB	7	7
O'Shea	CB	7	7
Brown	CB	7	7
Alonso	LB	7	6
Johnson	RM	7	7
Cattermole	DM	6	6
Colback	LM	6	6
Ki	CM	6	6
Larsson	CM	6	6
Borini	CF	8	8
Fletcher	ST	N/A	5
Gardner	MID	N/A	6
Giaccherini	MID	N/A	6

Mannone: Helpless for all three goals, but made some strong saves overall.

Bardsley: Bottled up Kolarov and Co. very well on the right.

O'Shea: Stood strong, but wasn't tested by Edin Dzeko at all. 

Brown: Despite the score, a quiet day's work. 

Alonso: Solid in defence and stretched his legs at the right time. Economical with the ball.

Johnson: Grabbed an assist for the goal with a great ball and provided much-needed running from deep.

Cattermole: Worked hard in the middle as an anchor to disrupt play. Saw little of the ball but that didn't matter.

Colback: Played left midfield and put in a real shift covering Zabaleta's runs.

Ki: Battled hard but struggled with City's physical midfield.

Larsson: Hardly the setting in which he excels, but he held his own.

Borini: Pace over the top a constant issue for City's centre-backs and a goal to the good.

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