Manchester City head to Burton Albion for the second leg of their EFL Cup semi-final tie on Wednesday evening sitting on a 9-0 lead from the first leg.
The Citizens, who last scored more than eight goals in a game a little over three decades ago, can now afford to rotate their squad during this busy period.
Burton Albion
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Even reaching this stage of the competition for the first time in their history is a massive achievement in itself for Burton, but the humiliation of losing by nine goals - even against one of the best sides in world football - may take a while to recover from.
Albion knocked out three Championship clubs and one from the Premier League en route to booking their place in the final four, including Burnley at the Pirelli Stadium in September, though they more than met their match in a ruthless Man City side.
Nigel Clough's men were still somehow in the game with half an hour of the first leg played, trailing by one goal, only for three quickfire strikes in the final 15 minutes of the half to take it away from them, before five more goals followed in the second period.
Damage limitation is now the order of the day for Burton, whose League One campaign has also stuttered since their Etihad Stadium thrashing, taking one point from the six on offer over the past fortnight.
Three more goals were shipped in a 3-2 loss to Gillingham, with Josh Rees scoring a last-gasp winner, and that was followed up with a 2-2 draw at Doncaster Rovers at the weekend.
A late goal favoured Albion on that occasion, but they are still 13th in the third-tier standings, six points above the relegation zone and 11 adrift of the playoffs.
Beating Man City in a one-off game is now the aim for the Brewers, who have won two of their last three home games against Premier League opposition - EFL Cup ties against Queens Park Rangers in 2014-15 and Burnley this season.
Clough has also lost just one of his last five home games against Premier League opponents, with that defeat coming in this competition against Liverpool two seasons ago.
Recent form in EFL Cup: WWWWWL
Recent form (all competitions): DDWLLD
Manchester City
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Man City were always clear favourites to brush aside Burton and reach successive EFL Cup finals for the first time in their history, but the manner of their first-leg destruction was still pretty eye-catching.
Gabriel Jesus bagged four of the nine goals, while Kevin De Bruyne, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Phil Foden, Kyle Walker and Riyad Mahrez were also on target in a one-sided clash.
Burton's only shot on target at the Etihad Stadium came via Lucas Akins seven seconds into the match, and now it is simply a case of damage limitation for the Brewers over the remaining 90 minutes of the tie.
Clough intends to use the match as a one-off, with any sort of scalp against Man City one to remember - even if it does come with the caveat of having lost so heavily in the first leg - but the Citizens, if the opening 90 minutes are anything to go by, will not take their foot off the gas.
City are the cup holders, having eased to a 3-0 win over Arsenal in last season's final, and they now have a sixth triumph in their sights, which would make them the competition's second-most successful side ever behind eight-time winners Liverpool.
Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur have gone all the way five times and four times respectively, meanwhile, and one of those London rivals will provide the competition for City in the final. That other semi-final is a lot tighter, Spurs holding a 1-0 lead from the first leg.
Since cruising past Burton on January 9, the Premier League champions have claimed back-to-back 3-0 wins over Wolverhampton Wanderers and Huddersfield Town, getting the job done in an efficient manner on both occasions to remain within four points of leaders Liverpool.
In all competitions it is now six wins in a row since losing successive matches to Crystal Palace and Leicester City either side of Christmas, scoring 27 goals and conceding twice, including clean sheets in their last four matches.
Burton, it seems, have an almighty challenge on their hands simply keeping the scoring down, never mind making a dent in the 9-0 first-leg deficit.
Recent form in EFL Cup: WWWWWW
Recent form (all competitions): WWWWWW
Team News
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Guardiola would have liked to have completely changed his squad for this dead rubber of a match, but that has been complicated by the EFL's refusal to shift the Under-23s' EFL Trophy quarter-final with Sunderland
That game is due to take place 24 hours before City's senior side travel to the Pirelli Stadium, but Guardiola hinted at the weekend that the first team takes priority so a number of youngsters can still expect a call-up on Wednesday.
That could mean appearances for the likes of Philippe Sandler, who appeared for 23 minutes of the FA Cup win over Rotherham United earlier this month, Luke Bolton, Adrian Bernabe and Nabil Touaizi.
Jesus may retain his spot up top from the first leg, meanwhile, aiming to add to his five goals in the EFL Cup this season - only Alvaro Negredo and Edin Dzeko, six each in 2013-14, have scored more in a single campaign for City.
As for Burton, they are likely to be without Scott Fraser as the midfielder was taken off injured in the draw with Doncaster at the weekend.
Clough is otherwise expected to name a near full-strength side, knowing that fielding a weakened XI will lead to further embarrassment.
Akins, the man responsible for Burton's only shot on target in the first leg, should be joined by Marcus Harness and Northern Ireland international Liam Boyce in the frontline.
Burton Albion possible starting lineup:
Collins; Brayford, Buxton, Turner, Hutchinson; Wallace, Quinn, Templeton; Akins, Boyce, Harness
Manchester City possible starting lineup:
Muric; Bolton, Garcia, Sandler, Zinchenko; Foden, Delph, Bernabe; Mahrez, Touaizi, Jesus
Head To Head
The first-leg tie was the only competitive meeting between Burton and Man City in all competitions.
The Brewers' 9-0 loss was the biggest they have suffered since becoming a Football League side in 2009-10.
City's thumping win was also the biggest-ever margin of victory in a semi-final of an English cup competition.
We say: Burton Albion 0-3 Manchester City (12-0 on aggregate)
The last team to both reach and win consecutive EFL Cup finals was Manchester United in 2008-09 and 2009-10. City can already look forward to next month's showpiece at Wembley against either Tottenham or Chelsea, but Guardiola will be keen to see his side's momentum continue with another convincing victory in this second leg in East Staffordshire.
Daniel Lewis
