Aston Villa boss Dean Smith believes Manchester United’s victory over Manchester City in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night has offered up hope of a surprise final win over Pep Guardiola’s side.
After beating United 3-1 in the first leg of the semi-final at Old Trafford, City were comfortably expected to clinch their final spot in front of their own fans at the Etihad Stadium.
Instead, they were made to sweat through to the final whistle after Nemanja Matic had pulled a goal back after 35 minutes, which proved to be the only breakthrough as City lost 1-0 on the night, but won through to their third successive final 3-2 on aggregate.
After seeing off Leicester, also via a 3-2 aggregate scoreline in their semi-final, Villa will go into the March 1 clash at Wembley as heavy underdogs, in particular after losing 3-0 at City and being hammered 6-1 at Villa Park earlier this month in the league.
Despite those results, Smith saw enough to convince him the final will not be another walkover for City.
Asked if facing City would be daunting, Smith said: “No, it’s a cup final.
“We certainly gave them a helping hand in a couple of results we’ve had against them so far. We need to learn from those errors, that’s for sure.
“Manchester United were expected to get beat last night but they went to City and beat them. It’s an opportunity for us to go and show what we’re all about in a major cup final.”
As to whether he has been given hope by United’s win, Smith replied: “Certainly. Man City played very well last night without getting a result. There’s no reason why we can’t do that.”
Smith is adamant the final will not serve as a distraction as Villa fight for their Premier League survival, starting with Saturday’s trip to relegation rivals Bournemouth.
