"FA Cup success won't erase disappointments" - Pep Guardiola

Pep Guardiola calls Man City’s season embarrassing as they chase FA Cup glory. With league hopes gone, can they bounce back against Bournemouth ?

Manchester City must beat Bournemouth to avoid ending the season without any silverware. Will Bournemouth let them? (Photo credit: BBC)

Sitting in fifth spot on the Premier League log and 22 points off the top, Pep Guardiola has admitted that his performance this season has been embarrassing.

Manchester City has won six Premier League titles under the Spaniard since he joined the club in the summer of 2016. Still, the club could end a league season without winning any silverware, with the FA Cup as the only remaining hope.

It's been an unusual season for Guardiola and the Cityzens; they were uncharacteristic in their league title defense and couldn't get beyond the playoffs after the group stage struggles in the Champions League.

With the new format in Europe's elite championship, Manchester City finished in the playoff spot and had to negotiate with Real Madrid over two legs, one which they were unsuccessful at as they lost 6-3 on aggregate.

While Guardiola was quick to dismiss any chance of a triumph in the FA Cup erasing the disappointments of this season, he knows they cannot afford to lose out against Bournemouth on Sunday; they're condemned to win, and he knows it.

Nottingham Forest beat Brighton on penalties after the game ended goalless after extra time to book a place in the semifinal for the first time since 1991, while Fulham crashed out as they lost at home to Crystal Palace.

Aston Villa will travel to Preston North End on Sunday in a bid to book a semifinal ticket too; it's a potential banana peel, one they dare not underrate considering the nature of the cup and the surprises within.

For the reigning league champions, they will travel to Bournemouth, hoping to roll back the years and deliver their best once again, as they have failed to inspire in the last six months.

"Of course it would be nice to get to the final of the FA Cup, win it and [also to] qualify for the Champions League," he said. "That would be a great achievement, but the season has been poor and that's not going to change.

"Our standards and a lot of things have not been good, that is the reality ... Hopefully it will not happen next season."