Pep Guardiola ban explained as Man City coach denied dream opportunity for Arsenal EFL Cup final

Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola will soon serve a two-game suspension following a milestone yellow card, but the Catalonian will be on the touchline for the EFL Cup final.

The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss oversaw a comfortable 3-1 win over Newcastle United in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Saturday evening, courtesy of goals from Savinho and Omar Marmoush (2).

However, in between the latter's two efforts - with City 2-1 up early in the second half - Guardiola was enraged that referee Sam Barrott did not blow for a perceived foul on Jeremy Doku.

The 55-year-old's furious protestations earned him a yellow card, already his sixth of the season in domestic competition, meaning that he will have to sit out two of Man City's upcoming games.

While players are only given a two-game ban if they reach 10 yellow cards before the cut-off point, the rules are different for managers, who incur a one-game suspension with three yellows and a multiple-match punishment with six.

Pep Guardiola receives two-game ban after sixth Man City yellow card

Guardiola's ban does not apply to Man City's imminent Champions League last-16 tie with Real Madrid, but he will not be barking orders from the sideline against West Ham United on March 14.

The Citizens' next domestic game after the visit of the Irons is the highly-anticipated EFL Cup final with Arsenal on March 22, as their battle with Crystal Palace has been postponed due to their UCL and Wembley commitments.

However, the Manchester Evening News reports that Guardiola will not be banned for the EFL Cup final, as his two-game suspension only applies to Premier League and FA Cup fixtures.

Instead, the 55-year-old will complete the second half of his ban in the FA Cup quarter-finals during the first weekend of April - following the international break - and return for the trip to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea on April 12.

In Guardiola's absence, ex-Liverpool assistant Pepijn Lijnders and Arsenal Invincible Kolo Toure - who has been denied the dream opportunity to take on caretaker manager duties against his old club in the EFL Cup final - will take the reins against West Ham and Man City's FA Cup quarter-final foe, whom they will discover when the draw is made on Monday evening.

Pep Guardiola explains furious reaction to Jeremy Doku incident

The Sky Blues boss was quizzed on the Doku incident during his post-game press conference, emphatically affirming that he would always stand by his players' side and joking that a vacation is now in order.

"When Jeremy Doku dribbles past (Kieran) Trippier and goes alone to the box and is being pulled form behind, I'm not asking for a yellow card but please - it's a foul," Guardiola said.

"I will defend my team. We have all the records in this country -all of them. Despite everything, we have all of them. And we have the record of the manager with the most yellow cards.

"I have always wanted this record and now I have it. Two game banned now and I will go on holidays. There are things that still after 10 years I cannot understand."

City's straightforward triumph on Saturday marked their seventh win from their last eight matches across all competitions and extended their unbeaten run to 11 games since January's shock Champions League defeat to Bodo/Glimt.