Manchester City showed no mercy to League One opponents Burton Albion this evening as they ran out 9-0 winners in the first leg of their EFL Cup semi-final at the Etihad Stadium.
Kevin De Bruyne got the rout underway after only five minutes before a spell of seven goals in the space of 40 minutes either side of half time - including four from Gabriel Jesus.
Oleksandr Zinchenko, Phil Foden and Kyle Walker also got on the scoresheet before Riyad Mahrez added the ninth late on to cap off a brutally one-sided contest.
Find out how all of the action unfolded courtesy of Sports Mole's minute-by-minute updates below.
Spurs gained a slender advantage over Chelsea in the first semi last night, but this one looks like a much more straightforward affair with holders and English champions Manchester City hosting Burton Albion of League One. It looks like a foregone conclusion, but Burton have been written off before in this season's competition and will just have a slither of hope that they can provide some more cup magic tonight.
There have been traffic problems in the area and there is the possibility that kickoff may be delayed, but for now it remains a 7.45pm game so let's start with a look at the team news...
SUBS: Ederson, Danilo, Stones, Sterling, Delph, Bernardo, Foden
SUBS: Bywater, McFadzean, Sbarra, Templeton, Fox, McCrory, Miller
Well, Man City have the rare capability of being able to name a second-string side and still field a fearsome team, and Burton Albion will certainly not feel as though they have got off lightly with this selection.
The likes of Aguero, Sterling and Fernandinho all miss out, but Guardiola is still able to name a team including De Bruyne, Sila and Sane, among other big names.
The Belgian came through 67 minutes unscathed in that match and start again tonight as Guardiola looks to edge him back up to full fitness for the Premier League. Man City may not have been quite as dominant as last season, but to think that they have still been without De Bruyne for much of the campaign is scary.
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The Spaniard interestingly starts ahead of Foden tonight, despite the youngster scoring against Rotherham at the weekend, while Bernardo and Delph - the latter of whom is available again after suspension - join Foden on the bench. Gundogan will once again play in the middle as Fernandinho is given the night off entirely.
Kyle Walker and Oleksandr Zinchenko retain their places in the wide defensive areas - both from the shootout win over Leicester and Sunday's 7-0 drubbing of Rotherham - while Otamendi has largely had to wait for these cup competitions to feature this season.
Further forward Jesus will be hoping for a better day in front of goal than he suffered on Sunday - despite scoring in that match - while both Sane and Mahrez were also on the scoresheet as City put Rotherham to the sword.
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The good news for the visitors is that John Brayford returns from injury for today's match, having missed the win over Rochdale at the weekend.
Fraser and Allen both came through that game with knocks but have managed to shake them off to feature tonight. In all, Clough has made three changes, while Fox and Templeton dropping to the bench and Boyce and Wallace replacing them.
It was Marcus Harness who stole all the headlines last time out for Burton, though, as he hit a hat-trick in a 4-0 victory for Clough's side - a rare big win for Burton.
You do have to fear for the Brewers, though, as City are not the type of team to show mercy against any opponents - as they proved their with their 7-0 win over Rotherham at the weekend.
For that to happen over two legs would go down as one of the biggest upsets in recent memory, though, and for City all they need to do is avoid a huge amount of complacency and they should be into the final for a second successive year.
The Citizens have a rich recent history in this competition too, winning it in three of the past five seasons and five times overall. This is their 11th semi-final, and they have made it through to the final in six of the previous 10.
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Their campaign began with a 3-0 triumph over Oxford before wins over Fulham and Leicester - the latter of which came via a penalty shootout after the 90 minutes ended 1-1. That run, coupled with their success in this competition last season, means that Man City are now unbeaten in their last nine League Cup outings.
Indeed, the Citizens have now progressed from their last 10 League Cup games against lower-league teams - including that win over Oxford this season - while their last match against a League One side saw them run out 7-1 winners over Barnsley in September 2004.
Guardiola's side have also only won one of their last four away games inside 90 minutes across all competitions, although that was their most recent one against Southampton.
That run includes a crucial 2-1 triumph over Liverpool here at the Etihad Stadium less than a week ago - a result which saw them close the gap at the top of the table to four points and haul themselves back into the title race.
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The Brewers have done brilliant to make it this far - the first time they have ever reached the semi-finals of a major cup competition - but they will be under no illusions that most people are expecting them to get emphatically beaten over the two legs.
The visitors have nothing to lose tonight, and if they can stay within one goal ahead of the second leg at the Pirelli Stadium later this month then that would have to be regarded as a superb achievement - not to mention keeping Burton in the tie.
Indeed, while this is a completely new experience for Burton as a club, this is actually the third time that Clough has managed in an EFL Cup semi-final, having also done so at Derby County in 2008-09.
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Burton do at least come into the game in improved form, though, having gone unbeaten in their last four outings since Christmas - including a 4-0 thrashing of Rochdale away from home on Saturday.
Everything points against a Burton win, draw or even narrow defeat this evening, but Clough's side have made a habit of upsetting the odds in this season's competition and at the very least will hope to remain in the tie ahead of the return leg at home.
Their run so far includes a Premier League scalp already too, beating Burnley 2-1 before victories over Championship duo Nottingham Forest and Middlesbrough. Shrewsbury and Aston villa were also seen off before that triumph over Burnley.
Across all competitions Burton are bidding to win back-to-back away games for the first time since New Year's Day 2018, and they have kept clean sheets in three of their last four on the road.
I cannot see anything other than a convincing home win in this match, unfortunately. We all love an upset and it is what the magic of the cup is all about, but this will surely be a step too far for Burton, particularly over two legs.
SPORTS MOLE SAYS: Man City 5-0 Burton
Burton have had some experience against Manchester United - famously holding them to a goalless draw in the FA Cup in 2006 - but they have never faced Man City before.
PEP GUARDIOLA: "Winning is important, we cannot deny it. We are in the semi-finals, one step closer to going back to Wembley.
"The Carabao Cup is a more local competition. Everybody is happy to win but no one is sad to go out but we are here and we are going to try."
"But it's great for our supporters. Some have followed the club for 40, 50, 60 years or more and never dreamt of being in a League Cup semi-final, so let's enjoy it.
"Every game you have a chance but it's just about what degree that chance is. Ours is extremely slim but there is always a chance in football. We won't go into detail about their players as that will frighten the life out of our lads. They know how good they are as they watch Match of the Day each week."
MAN CITY STARTING XI: Muric; Walker, Otamendi, Garcia, Zinchenko; De Bruyne, Gundogan, Silva; Mahrez, Jesus, Sane
BURTON ALBION STARTING XI: Collins; Brayford, Buxton, Allen, Turner, Fraser, Akins, Harness, Hutchinson, Wallace, Boyce
13 - Kevin De Bruyne has scored nine goals and assisted four more in 12 League Cup appearances for Manchester City. Noggin. #CarabaoCup— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 9, 2019
That didn't take long! 👀
Kevin De Bruyne opens the scoring against Burton Albion after just FIVE minutes ⏱ pic.twitter.com/8rBk6teWvW— Soccer AM (@SoccerAM) January 9, 2019
Silva stabbed a clever pass through for Sane, who saw his initially effort well saved by the keeper. The ball bounced back up into the area, and Jesus reacted quickly to nod it past three defenders on the line.
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The ball is played back to Zinchenko and it looks as though he is trying to swing a cross into the box, but instead he lobs the keeper and sends it into the top corner! If he meant that then it is a great goal, but his lack of celebration suggests he didn't.
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8 - Gabriel Jesus has scored eight goals in his last seven starts in all competitions for Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium, one more goal than in his previous 14 starts there. Uptick. #CarabaoCup pic.twitter.com/rHU2jbkotY
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 9, 2019
Most Goals in all competitions in Europe's Top 5 Leagues This Season
— Sky Sports Statto (@SkySportsStatto) January 9, 2019
91 - @ManCity
77 - PSG
71 - Barcelona
70 - Tottenham
68 - Sevilla
66 - Arsenal pic.twitter.com/SFfJdSoMsp
The visitors have tried to give it a go and missed one particularly good chance, but they have simply been outclassed by City and this could end up being double figures if City don't show any mercy.
It was far too easy, although Burton would have been content with just a one-game deficit approaching the half-hour mark before City really put the game to bed.
The Brazilian doubled his personal tally when he stroked home a finish after being teed up by Silva's square pass, and Zinchenko quickly added a fourth with a mis-hit cross which sailed over the keeper and into the top corner.
The hosts scored seven here at the weekend and look to be on course for at least that many again tonight unless something drastic changes in the second half.
2 - Gabriel Jesus has now scored two hat-tricks at the Etihad Stadium - only Carlos Tevez (4) and Sergio Aguero (10) have netted more home trebles for Manchester City since their move away from Maine Road. Comforts. #CarabaoCup pic.twitter.com/z44KcfcaNl
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 9, 2019
Gundogan slides a lovely pass through for Jesus who really should add his fourth, but he fires his effort straight at the keeper. The ball drops to Foden, though, and he sweeps it into an empty net.
Mahrez floats a pass over the defence for Sane, who chests it down before firing a low cross into the box which Jesus gets a touch to, flicking it home from close range.
7 - Manchester City are the first English league side to score at least seven goals in consecutive games in all competitions since Don Revie's Leeds United back in October 1967. Heaven. #CarabaoCup pic.twitter.com/vniTiD8jQm— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 9, 2019
De Bruyne got the ball rolling after just five minutes before a spell of seven goals in 40 minutes, including four from Gabriel Jesus and one apiece from Zinchenko, Foden and Walker. Mahrez then capped off the scoring late on, although they fell just short of fulfilling the crowd's calls for double figures.
Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for tonight's match as Man City run riot against Burton, hitting nine goals past them in the first leg of their EFL Cup semi-final. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction too.
From me, though, it is goodbye for now!