Pep Guardiola confirms 'outstanding' Man City gem will play FA Cup semi-final vs Nottingham Forest

Man City have only just booked their place in the semi-finals of the FA Cup, but head coach Pep Guardiola has already confirmed an early piece of team news for their Wembley clash with Nottingham Forest.

The Blues came from behind to defeat Bournemouth on Sunday afternoon, as second-half strikes from Erling Haaland and Omar Marmoush cancelled out a first-half goal from Evanilson. City made history as they reached the last four of the competition for a record seventh successive season and they will be favourites to lift the trophy this time around.

City's priority for the remainder of the season has to be their Premier League campaign though, with a top-five finish likely to secure a place in next season's Champions League. They are currently fifth in the top-flight, one point behind Chelsea in fourth, but just three points ahead of Aston Villa in ninth.

'Outstanding' Man City gem will play FA Cup semi-final

Guardiola was full of praise for his City squad after their comeback win over Bournemouth, with youngster Nico O'Reilly named Player of the Match for his impressive substitute appearance. The 20-year-old replaced Abdukodir Khusanov at half-time and made an immediate impact with assists for both of the City goals.

Although his preferred role is that of a holding midfielder, O'Reilly shone for a makeshift left-back role again, so much so, that Guardiola says he will definitely feature in the semi-final against Forest next month. "We did it," the City head coach told ITV after the win. "Seven times in a row reaching semi-finals in the FA Cup. I am sorry to tell you, but this is outstanding. This generation of players, they have done this. To come here one of the toughest away places to come.

"After the impact from Nico [O'Reilly] was really good, but not just him - really pleased that we reach the semi-final, again. Not just young players, but the old players as well. Today, Bernardo [Silva], Gundo [Ilkay Gundogan] and Kevin [De Bruyne], you know they are really good. Nico scored two goals against Plymouth and the impact today was outstanding. He's going to play in semi-final for sure!"

Speaking after the win, O'Reilly thanked Guardiola for allowing him to showcase his talents in a game of such magnitude in their season. He added: "My instructions were to get involved as much as I can. It was good to get the contributions with the two assists - I was buzzing. I'm grateful for the opportunities I get from the manager and playing with the best players that are out there."