Nottingham Forest had to come from two goals down to avoid FA Cup third-round history repeating itself as they earned a 2-2 draw with League One Blackpool.

Forest looked like heading out to the Seasiders at this stage for a second straight year when they conceded twice in three first-half minutes, with Jordan Lawrence-Gabriel and Albie Morgan getting the goals.

But the Premier League outfit hit back with goals from Nicolas Dominguez and Morgan Gibbs-White either side of the break.

They could not find a winner, though, meaning the tie will be settled with a replay at Bloomfield Road, where Forest were beaten 4-1 last season.

After a flat opening 20 minutes, the game burst into life as Forest had their first sight of goal when Chris Wood latched onto Gibbs-White’s excellent pass but could not keep his effort down.

And it hurt Forest as before they knew it they were 2-0 down, with Blackpool hitting them with a double salvo.

In the 25th minute Gonzalo Montiel’s poor clearance fell straight to Lawrence-Gabriel, who expertly headed home from 12 yards against his former club and was almost apologetic in his celebration.

Two minutes and 46 seconds later Blackpool were in dreamland as Morgan was left unmarked at the far post and he squeezed home CJ Hamilton’s cross.

Forest needed to improve and got themselves back in it in the 39th minute as Dominguez powered home Montiel’s cross with a well-placed header.

They should have gone in level as Gibbs-White slipped in Wood but the in-form New Zealand striker clipped just wide.

Head coach Nuno Espirito Santo sent the hosts back out early for the second half and they drew themselves level in the 56th minute with the goal of the game as Gibbs-White received the ball on the edge of the area from Callum Hudson-Odoi and arrowed an unstoppable drive into the corner.

Forest ramped up the pressure and should have taken the lead but Ryan Yates headed Danilo’s cross straight at Daniel Grimshaw, with the Blackpool goalkeeper also saving Hudson-Odoi’s late shot.

But they could not find the winner, Wood’s failure to connect with Hudson-Odoi’s cross ensuring it ended all square, with a replay scheduled to take place the week commencing January 15.

David Moyes faces a trip back to his former club after West Ham were held to a 1-1 FA Cup draw by Bristol City.

The Hammers looked on course for a comfortable afternoon when Jarrod Bowen fired them into an early lead.

It proved to be anything but, however, after a second-half equaliser from Tommy Conway secured a replay for the rocking Robins.

West Ham’s squad would have been given a whole a week off had they won this third-round tie, but they will now be dragged back in on Friday as Moyes, who reached Wembley twice as a player with City, prepares for a return to Ashton Gate.

Almost 9,000 members of City’s cider army – among an impressive 62,500 sell-out – made the trip to the capital, but the raucous bunch who filled the Sir Trevor Brooking stand were silenced after just four minutes.

Lucas Paqueta dropped deep to collect the ball and lifted a delicious pass over the top to Bowen.

The England hopeful still had work to do, controlling the ball before knocking it past the dive of City keeper Max O’Leary and beating covering defender Cameron Pring on the goal-line.

Sadly for West Ham it was Paqueta’s last involvement in the match. The Brazilian playmaker was only just back from a knee injury and seemed to suffer a recurrence.

Teenage striker Divin Mubama was sent on as a replacement for a rare chance to impress.

West Ham almost doubled their lead when Bowen got round the back of the City defence and pulled the ball back, but O’Leary made a superb reaction save to claw out Pablo Fornals’ shot.

O’Leary made another fine stop to prevent an own-goal from Pring, who inadvertently turned Bowen’s cross-shot towards his own net, and then tipped a James Ward-Prowse volley wide.

Moyes was forced into a second substitution after just 38 minutes when Konstantinos Mavropanos was hurt after an aerial challenge with Conway, with veteran defender Angelo Ogbonna sent on.

City, 11th in the Championship and on a run of one defeat in five matches under former Hammers Under-23 coach Liam Manning, threatened sporadically in the first half.

But Sam Bell shot straight at Lukasz Fabianski and Rob Dickie’s header was also too close to the Polish keeper.

City should have drawn level early in the second half when a low cross from captain Jason Knight eluded everyone in the box and fell to Pring, who lashed his shot wide at the far post.

But on the hour mark the away fans behind the goal were delirious when Joe Williams pinged the ball forward.

Ogbonna missed it and Conway raced forward before burying his shot across Fabianski and into the net.

West Ham poured forward in a bid to avoid a replay – and preserve their week off – but Tomas Soucek headed over and substitute Danny Ings hit the sidenetting.

Napoli’s dismal season continued as they succumbed to a seventh defeat of the season in Serie A, losing 3-0 at Torino.

Antonio Sanabria, Nikola Vlasic and Alessandro Buongiorno got the goals as Walter Mazzarri’s defending champions had another miserable afternoon.

A dismal afternoon for the visitors was compounded by the 50th-minute dismissal of Naples-born wing-back Pasquale Mazzocchi, less than three minutes into his debut.

They are now winless and without a goal in four matches and lie 20 points behind leaders Inter Milan.

Napoli had a 20-3 aggregate goal advantage in the last eight meetings of these two teams in Turin, winning seven and drawing the other.

However, it was destined to be the hosts’ day from the moment Sanabria broke the deadlock two minutes before half-time.

Duvan Zapata flicked an Ivan Ilic free-kick on for the Paraguay international, who tucked the ball away left-footed from six yards.

Napoli’s hopes of getting back into the contest were killed off as they made a sloppy start to the second half.

Zapata had already forced Pierluigi Gollini into a save at his near post less than two minutes after the restart when the visitors were reduced to 10 men.

Mazzocchi, a half-time substitute for Piotr Zielinski, had been on the pitch for  three minutes when he received a yellow card for a high, reckless challenge on Valentino Lazaro. However, referee Maurizio Mariani then decided to dismiss the 28-year-old Napoli debutant, following VAR intervention.

Torino soon doubled their advantage, Vlasic beating Gollini with a well-placed low right-footed shot into the corner two minutes later.

Sanabria hit the post from eight yards and Zapata failed to tuck the rebound away from close range, with Gollini blocking with his foot then scooping the ball away before it could cross the line.

However, the dominant hosts made it 3-0 in the 66th minute when central defender Buongiorno headed home a Lazaro corner.

Giovanni Simeone skied an 80th-minute attempt at a consolation goal, capping a miserable Napoli display as Torino moved to within a point of their ninth-placed opponents.

Luton were frustrated by League One high-flyers Bolton as the teams played out a drab goalless draw in the FA Cup third round at Kenilworth Road.

Rob Edwards fielded a near-full strength side in spite of the hosts’ ongoing fight to survive in their debut Premier League campaign, but they were unable to break down the side currently sitting second in the third tier.

Alfie Doughty struck a post in the final moments, the nearest Luton came to finally picking Bolton off, that after substitutes Andros Townsend and Jordan Clarke had both gone close in the second half.

Bolton began well and looked a worthy match for Luton, limiting the hosts to a single long-range effort from Ross Barkley which was easily saved by Nathan Baxter in the opening 15 minutes.

At the other end, Josh Sheehan briefly had Tim Krul worried with a 25-yard piledriver that whistled over the crossbar.

Elijah Adebayo glanced a header across goal from Amari’i Bell’s outswinging cross on the half-hour mark that was watched safely behind by Baxter, as Luton struggled to match the kind of attacking intensity that had seen them cause such hardship here for Premier League opponents in recent months.

Barkley tried again from distance and found only the goalkeeper’s gloves.

Tahith Chong teed up Albert Sambi Lokonga late in the half to drive perhaps Luton’s best opening wide of the post from just outside the box.

Certainly it was as close as either side came to breaking the deadlock ahead of a welcome half-time interval.

Carlton Morris had the best chance of the game so far when he headed towards the top corner from Chiedozie Ogbene’s cross from right, a fine reflex save by Baxter beating it clear, before Doughty, unusually subdued by his own recent standards, saw a low effort aimed towards the far post deflected wide.

The longer it stayed goalless, the more the League One side seemed to grow in confidence.

Paris Maghoma and Victor Adeboyejo combined well in a central position high inside the Luton half, but the move was scrubbed out before either player could get a shot away.

Bolton had won four in a row in the league and 10 of their last 13, putting pressure on leaders Portsmouth in the race to reach the Championship.

Yet there was little sign here of Ian Evatt’s side keeping anything back for the promotion run-in. As the tie entered its final 20 minutes, they continued to match Luton’s organisation and work-rate beat for beat.

The hosts gamely kept at it without ever truly showing signs of top-flight class.

Townsend emerged from the bench and tested Baxter’s reach with a fine curling effort low towards the corner, that after fellow substitute Clarke had seen a rasping effort deflected wide.

Their growing frustrations were summed up when Doughty miscued horribly with a cross that sailed harmlessly into the rafters of the stand to the delight of the away supporters.

There was almost late drama when Doughty struck a post with a blistering drive, then Bolton survived a penalty scare when VAR was called on to check a Will Forrester challenge on the same player.

A draw and a replay were no more than Bolton deserved.

West Brom cruised into the FA Cup fourth round after a first-half blitz against Aldershot.

Early goals from Nathaniel Chalobah and Jovan Malcolm set the Baggies on course for a 4-1 win and ended any thoughts the National League visitors had of a shock.

Daryl Dike – making his first appearance since April following a serious Achilles injury – added a third before half-time with the gulf between the Championship promotion-chasers and the Shots obvious.

There were never any hopes of a comeback and Tom Fellows’ first senior goal completed the scoring late on before Ollie Bray’s consolation.

The 4,800 travelling fans were dreaming of an upset but their trip to The Hawthorns turned into a nightmare inside the opening 15 minutes.

It was easy enough for Albion when Fellows was sent scampering down the right and his cross was hooked into the top corner by Chalobah from 12 yards for a seventh-minute opener.

Just eight minutes later it was 2-0 when Cian Harries’ slip allowed Malcolm – whose only other Albion goal came against Chesterfield in the FA Cup a year ago –  a clear run and he coolly stroked into the corner.

The Shots, 10th in the National League, offered little aside from Jack Barham’s deflected effort and it was little surprise when Albion grabbed a third after 27 minutes.

It came from more wretched defending as Stuart O’Keefe could only head Alex Mowatt’s corner to Dike to hammer in from 10 yards.

The striker went hunting a second and tested Jordi van Stappershoef from distance but as a contest the game was over.

Baggies boss Carlos Corberan even had the luxury of replacing Dike with Akeel Higgins at the break, a pre-planned change as the striker returns to match fitness.

Victory was inevitable, Albion just had to maintain their concentration for a second-half cruise. Aldershot, though, did try to inject a little life to proceedings and Tyler Frost had a shot blocked.

But normal service quickly resumed and Kyle Bartley underlined the Baggies’ confidence when his lob from halfway dropped a yard over.

Fenton Heard also drilled over, while Aldershot’s Lorent Tolaj tested Josh Griffiths from distance.

Layton Love should have grabbed a fourth for Albion after being sent through with four minutes left only to blaze over but Fellows did net two minutes later, cutting inside and finishing off the post.

Yet there was still time for the visitors to score a consolation when Bray fired in from eight yards in stoppage time.

Thomas O’Connor’s goal secured Wrexham a 1-0 FA Cup win at Shrewsbury as they reached the fourth round for the second year running.

The hosts went close midway through the first half when Jordan Shipley floated a cross to the back post for Tunmise Sobowale to run on to but he skied his effort over the bar.

Wrexham had an effort just after half-time through Paul Mullin, who won the ball wide and cut in to the box from the left, but Marko Marosi parried away the danger.

Mal Benning made a surging run from the halfway line into the box just past the hour mark, but his effort clipped the crossbar and went out.

The Red Dragons found the breakthrough in the 72nd minute as George Evans played the ball into O’Connor’s path and the midfielder’s deflected strike found the back of the net.

Shrewsbury went close to a late equaliser as the ball fell to Taylor Perry just yards out, but his effort went inches wide.

Chelsea’s Sam Kerr has sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury during the club’s warm weather training in Morocco.

The Blues and Australia striker will begin rehabilitation with the club’s medical team and is likely to be out for an extended period.

Kerr’s injury is a big loss to Emma Hayes’ side who are looking to win their fourth successive Women’s Super League title.

The Matildas captain has scored four goals in eight games for the Blues in the WSL this season and she has dominated in the Champions League, scoring five goals in four.

After initially being given a contract to lead Trinidad and Tobago's senior men’s team into Copa America playoff battle against Canada in March, Angus Eve was granted an extension, and will now remain at the helm until 2025.

Eve's extension, which was recently announced by the country's Football Association, will be for the duration of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualification campaign.

Teenager Chaka Traore scored his second goal in six days as AC Milan beat Serie A strugglers Empoli 3-0 at the Stadio Carlo Castellani.

The 19-year-old Ivorian winger, who had opened his Milan account in Tuesday’s 4-1 Coppa Italia victory over Cagliari, came off the bench to notch a third for Stefano Pioli’s men in the 88th minute.

That added to Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s 11th-minute opener and an Olivier Giroud penalty just past the half-hour mark.

Third-placed Milan’s third win in four league games closed the gap to second-placed Juventus to four points ahead of the Turin giants’ match at Salernitana later on Sunday.

Aurelio Andreazzoli’s Empoli remain second bottom as their winless run in the league extends to a seventh match.

As the visitors sought to make an early breakthrough, Tijjani Reijnders drilled wide in the third minute and Davide Calabria produced a dangerous cross from the right that flashed across the face of goal without a finishing touch being applied.

Milan then moved in front when Rafael Leao got past Tyronne Ebuehi on the left and laid the ball to Loftus-Cheek, who slotted past Elia Caprile.

Caprile subsequently dealt with a shot from Theo Hernandez before Empoli were forced into a change, with Ebuehi having pulled up injured and replaced by Filippo Ranocchia.

Moments later, Loftus-Cheek’s acrobatic effort hit the hand of Youssef Maleh, a VAR check ensued and after referee Federico La Penna watched footage back pitchside the verdict was a penalty, which Giroud dispatched in emphatic fashion off the crossbar for his 10th club goal of the season in all competitions.

It was then Milan having to make an early substitution due to injury as Alessandro Florenzi came off for Alex Jimenez.

Empoli’s Nicolo Cambiaghi was unable to make the most of a decent chance in first-half stoppage time, shooting wide, and Tommaso Baldanzi then saw an attempt saved by Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan early in the second half.

Milan returned to the front foot with Loftus-Cheek striking wide from outside the box, Caprile tipping over a Christian Pulisic header and Leao curling into the stand.

Empoli’s continued efforts to hit back saw Cambiaghi put a couple of attempts wide, either side of Maignan blocking a Matteo Cancellieri shot and Francesco Caputo’s follow-up deflecting behind.

Milan then wrapped things up on the counter-attack in the closing stages as Pulisic burst forward and fed Traore, who sent a composed finish into the bottom corner.

Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick is hopeful his side can take the “positive experiences” from their FA Cup third-round loss into their Carabao Cup semi-final against Chelsea.

Boro were knocked out of the FA Cup by Matty Cash’s late strike in the 87th minute, which took a deflection into the bottom corner.

However, Boro’s attention quickly turns to the Carabao Cup, where they come up against Premier League Chelsea at the Riverside on Tuesday and Carrick hopes his players can take inspiration from their performance against Aston Villa.

He said post-match: “The boys are disappointed, which is good that they’re disappointed.

“It’s not an acceptance of ‘we’ve got beat’, it shows to me, more importantly, how much they felt they were right in the game. That’ll help us.

“We’ve got a lot of young boys in there that are learning, developing and experiences like that and the positive experiences we’ll take from it are no end for Tuesday hopefully and to the end of the season.”

Two games against Chelsea stand in the way of Boro reaching the final of the Carabao Cup, which they won in 2004, and Carrick insists his side are already relishing the test against the Blues.

“I won’t have to lift them (for the Chelsea match),” he added.

“It’s a huge game for us obviously, for each individual it’s a massive game, but for us collectively it’s a massive game.

“There won’t be any issues with recovery or motivation, my job’s already done for that one, they’ve done it themselves by getting into a semi-final.

“It’s a different game completely in terms of tactically and the dangers Chelsea have got, we’ll obviously have to adapt and look forward to that.

“They’re dangerous, at any point they can change a game, we know that.”

The 1-0 victory on Saturday night saw Aston Villa break their poor FA Cup run to progress to the fourth round for the first time since 2016.

Their best chances came from a succession of corners in the second half where goalkeeper Tom Glover pulled off an excellent save to deny John McGinn before Ezri Konsa’s header smashed off the inside of the post and Alex Moreno blasted the ball over the bar from close range.

The winning moment fell to Cash who struck from outside of the box to beat Glover and he revealed it was something he had worked on in training.

He told VillaTV: “I think I’ve worked closely on it in training, out of the box shooting and trying to keep the ball on target, and that’s all you can do.

“Obviously got a lucky deflection but I’m delighted it’s gone in, I’m really happy to get a goal.

“Since I’ve been here I haven’t progressed through to the next round, we made it clear before the game we wanted to do that and we’re obviously delighted to get into the fourth round.”

Sean Longstaff has challenged Newcastle to mount a charge for FA Cup glory after launching their campaign with a morale-boosting derby victory over Sunderland.

The Magpies went into Saturday’s clash with their arch-rivals having lost seven of their previous eight games in all competitions and knowing the potential for a third-round exit at the hands of lower league opposition for a third successive season was a very real possibility if they were not at their best.

In the event, Eddie Howe’s men eased past the Black Cats with the minimum of fuss, securing a 3-0 victory which rekindled memories among the 6,000 travelling fans at the Stadium of Light of last season’s Carabao Cup final trip to Wembley and increased hope of an end to a 69-year wait for a major domestic trophy.

Asked afterwards about the prospect of an extended run in the competition, midfielder Longstaff told NUFC TV: “We knew going out of the Carabao Cup was really disappointing and if we want to make it a memorable season, it’s a chance to win a trophy and we’ve got to believe that we can do that. I think we’ve got the squad to do it.

“It’s about getting through the first game, so now we’re through and no matter who we get, whether we’re at home or away, we’re going to give it all we’ve got.

“If we can get another trip to Wembley and hopefully put a positive end on it, it would be amazing, but there’s a long way to go before that, so we’re not getting ahead of ourselves.”

Howe and his players arrived on Wearside knowing their season had reached something of a watershed following last month’s Champions League and Carabao Cup exits and a poor run of form in the Premier League.

They did so without a win over Sunderland, now playing their football in the Sky Bet Championship after a four-season exile in League One, in nine attempts – a run which included six successive defeats – dating back to 2011.

But if there was any anxiety on and off the pitch before kick-off, it was soon dispelled as, aided by an error-strewn display from the hosts, they surged to victory without ever having to find top gear.

They went ahead 10 minutes before the break when defender Dan Ballard, who had moments earlier been fortunate to escape unpunished after hauling down Alexander Isak as he surged into the penalty area, turned Joelinton’s cross into his own net with the Sweden international lurking behind him ready to apply the finishing touch.

Newcastle were effectively home and dry within seconds of the restart when Miguel Almiron mugged Pierre Ekwah on the edge of his own box and squared for Isak to extend the lead, and the £63million striker completed the job with a 90th-minute penalty after a frustrated Ballard had barged Anthony Gordon to the ground.

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Sunderland had flickered briefly in the meantime with Alex Pritchard clipping the top of the crossbar and then forcing a good save from Martin Dubravka, but it was all too little, too late.

Isak, who swiftly turned his attention to Saturday’s league clash with Manchester City, said: “We just have to get back to our form and start winning games. That’s the main target.

“Hopefully this can be like a turn-around for us because we’ve had bad results before, so we can use this energy to turn things around, and it’s a good way to start against City.”

Second-half goals from Joselu, Brahim Diaz and Rodrygo saw Real Madrid into the last 16 of the Copa del Rey with a 3-1 win over fourth-tier Arandina.

Although the final score looked comfortable, Madrid had to be patient against their lowly opponents, who were able to celebrate getting on the scoresheet with a late own goal from Nacho.

Unsurprisingly, Madrid dominated in every department but they had to wait for a 54th-minute penalty from Joselu to break the deadlock, with Diaz adding another just a minute later as Arandina’s resistance finally cracked.

Rodrygo then added a third in the first minute of stoppage time, but Madrid then blotted their copy book with the own goal allowing the hosts to celebrate before the end.

It was pretty much one-way traffic at El Montecillo throughout the night as Madrid enjoyed 78 per cent possession and had 15 attempts on goal to Arandina’s two.

But the hosts should still take credit for how difficult they made it for their illustrious opponents to score as they defended in numbers and made a series of blocks.

Arda Guler had already been the first to draw a save from Adrian Alvarez before then hitting a post with a free-kick in the 18th minute, but more often than not it was the Arandina defenders who got a foot in before Madrid’s attempts could find their way to goal.

But things changed eight minutes into the second half when Zazu fouled Diaz in the box, giving Joselu an opportunity from the spot that he did not pass up.

Arandina barely had time to gather their thoughts before Diaz doubled the lead, but it did not signal the opening of the floodgates.

A string of substitutions interrupted the flow of the game and allowed Arandina to regroup.

Madrid did have chances to add to their lead, but young Vinicius Tobias had a shot saved before Alvaro Rodriguez headed over from close range.

Having won the penalty and scored the second, Diaz then added an assist to his night’s achievements as he set up Rodrygo’s stoppage-time strike.

Arandina responded by going close through Kevin Manzano before Nacho put through his own net at the death.

Inter Milan extended their lead at the top of Serie A to five points after Davide Frattesi sealed a dramatic late 2-1 win over Verona at the San Siro.

Inter looked set to have to settle for a draw after an early strike from Lautaro Martinez was cancelled out by Thomas Henry in the 74th minute.

But in a wild finish, Frattesi netted in the third minute of added time with a goal Verona claimed should have been disallowed for an earlier foul by Alessandro Bastoni.

Verona’s Darko Lazovic was sent off for protesting to the referee, but there was still time for the visitors to win a penalty in the 10th minute of added time, which Henry duly fired against a post.

In an equally action-packed clash at Frosinone, Monza ended a run of three games without a win as they clung on for a 3-2 victory over the hosts, who fought back from three goals down but had Pierluigi Frattali sent off in the 75th minute.

Fiorentina’s run of three straight wins came to a jolting end at Sassuolo, for whom Andrea Pinamonti’s ninth minute strike proved enough to end a run of six league games without a victory.

Cagliari remain rooted in the relegation zone despite Gaetano Oristanio’s 68th-minute effort salvaging a point in a 1-1 draw at Lecce, who led through Valentin Gendrey’s first-half opener.

Real Madrid had to be patient before seeing off fourth-tier Arandina in the last 32 of the Copa del Rey, with Joselu, Brahim Diaz and Rodrygo all scoring in the second half.

The hosts grabbed a late consolation through a Nacho own goal to make the final score 3-1 in a game that was also notable for the long-awaited debut of Real’s 18-year-old Arda Guler.

Two goals in the last half hour from Memphis Depay spared Atletico Madrid’s blushes as they edged to a 3-1 win at third-tier Lugo.

The hosts had briefly threatened to cause an upset when Leandro Antonelli cancelled out Angel Correa’s early strike for the visitors.

Goals from Daley Blind and Yan Couto saw Girona emerge unscathed with a 2-0 win at Segunda Division side Elche, while there were also wins for Getafe, Alaves and Real Vallecano.

Golden Lion’s 8,000-mile round trip to face Ligue 1 Lille turned sour as they were mauled 12-0 in the Coupe de France.

The Martinique champions, one of a number of teams from overseas territories eligible to play in the competition, were swept aside with both Jonathan David and Edon Zhegova scoring hat-tricks.

Third tier Sochaux pulled off a shock 2-1 win over Ligue 1 strugglers Lorient thanks to an added time penalty from Issouf Macalou.

Nice needed penalties to see off second-tier Auxerre after a goalless draw, while Brest edged past Angers and there were wins for Montpellier and Strasbourg over lower-tier opposition.

Pep Guardiola has raised the tantalising prospect of unleashing Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne together in the centre of Manchester City’s attack.

Foden has hit a rich vein of form in recent weeks playing in the central attacking midfield role that De Bruyne had previously made his own.

That has raised the question of how the pair will be deployed once the inspirational De Bruyne returns from the hamstring injury that has sidelined him since August.

City manager Guardiola said: “They are different players but it’s true that in the final third, in the decisive moments, both are incredible. The impact in goals, in passes is a lot.

“Phil is playing unbelievably lately in that position, in the threats, and he feels comfortable.

“In certain games, of course we can play both together in that position, in the pocket, in the middle, close to the box.

“In certain other games for the stability, maybe not. So we have to see day by day.”

The issue may not need to be resolved just yet with Guardiola not intending to rush De Bruyne back into action.

The Belgian was an unused substitute for last week’s Premier League victory over Sheffield United and any return to action is likely to be incremental.

“Right now I don’t ask to Kevin to play his best level,” said Guardiola, whose side host Sky Bet Championship club Huddersfield in the FA Cup third round on Sunday,

“We cannot force a player with a long injury in this kind of situation. From my experience as a football player, it happened quite similar. I was one year with hamstring problems. When you come back you need time.

“It’s not, ‘OK play, it’s the best Kevin’. You have to be relaxed, enjoy the minutes he’s going to play, try to win the games.

“Kevin maybe in 20 minutes can help us more right now than 90 minutes. After that his body will dictate how many minutes more he can get.”

City are the holders of the FA Cup and Guardiola has no intention of giving up the trophy lightly, even as they pursue further glory in the Premier League and Champions League.

Guardiola, twice a winner of the cup, has a strong affinity with the competition and does not want to see it marginalised as other events grow in importance.

He said: “Since day one here I’ve been asked about but it is not going to happen, reduced competition. Accept it.

“It is really, really important. It’s not friendly games here. We train every day for Huddersfield. We prepare incredibly well.

“The FA Cup is the FA Cup. You will not find one person in this club, in the locker room, who doesn’t love it.”

A team from Martinique face a painful 4,000-mile journey home after crashing 12-0 at Ligue 1 side Lille in the Coupe de France on Saturday.

Golden Lion qualified for the tournament as reigning champions of the Caribbean nation, and were handed a daunting away trip to the six-time winners.

They were 7-0 down at half-time and mustered a single shot in comparison to 37 for the hosts, for whom Jonathan David and Edon Zhegrova helped themselves to hat-tricks.

The Coupe de France has been open to representatives of French departments and territories since the mid-1960s, and one-sided results are nothing new.

Golden Lion can seek solace in the fact that they performed better – and faced a shorter round trip – than French Guiana side CSC Cayenne, who were thumped 14-0 at Paris FC in 2021.