How Manchester City Will Line Up Against Wigan Athletic in FA Cup Quarter-Final

Manchester City received a dream traipse of a draw through the Capital One Cup tournament and took full advantage of it.

City's FA Cup draw has not been similarly kind, but the Sky Blues have persevered. Specifically, City's fifth-round knockout of fellow Premier League giants Chelsea cleared real ground.

Now, with the taste of Capital One Cup champagne still fresh, City must focus on exorcising a recent demon in the quarter-final.

The good news for City is that they will be home for the round of eight. The bad news?

It's Wigan. Again.

Yes, City already took some measure of revenge against the Latics in the third round of the Capital One Cup; a 5-0 lashing that was not as close as that score indicates. Wigan did not even put a shot on target.

But that was September, and as ESPNFC's match story put it, "Wigan made nine changes from their most recent game while Jordi Gomez, Emmerson Boyce and Roger Espinoza were the only members of their side that started the FA Cup final."

In other words, City's backups hammered Wigan's backups, which should never surprise anyone given the resources available to both sides.

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Wigan are in with a shout for promotion back to the Premier League. That chase and this FA Cup run are what former City man and current Wigan boss Uwe Rosler's men have to play for now.

Per Sky Sports, Rosler admitted that facing City will stir up emotions but that he will "make sure that the professional side takes over and not the emotional side."

City manager Manuel Pellegrini has no such emotional baggage with reference to this match. He was not in Manchester last season when City spit up the FA Cup to Wigan. This encounter is just another obstacle on the way to a trophy Pellegrini's side can win.

According to Oddschecker.com, City are 1/6 to unemotionally dispatch Wigan from the FA Cup. There is no way to know the degree to which the touts factor in probable squad rotation into those odds.

With so many players returning from international duty midweek, though, Pellegrini would do well to empty at least some of his extensive bench during this match. Particularly if the strikers get City a comfortable early lead.

City's predicted XI against Wigan: Costel Pantilimon; Gael Clichy, Vincent Kompany, Martin Demichelis, Pablo Zabaleta; Samir Nasri, James Milner, Yaya Toure, Jesus Navas; Sergio Aguero, Alvaro Negredo.