At the Etihad Stadium, it’s not uncommon to see a tall, blonde - haired player score the opening goal. But this time, instead of Erling Haaland breaking the deadlock for Manchester City in their FA Cup clash against Plymouth Argyle, it was towering defender Maksym Taloverov. He threatened to cause an upset with a first - half header.

Fortunately for City, Nico O’Reilly came to the rescue. The makeshift left - back equalized just before half - time with a header. Then, in the closing stages, he scored a second header. Kevin De Bruyne sealed the victory in the 90th minute, leaving no room for doubt.

Manchester City managed to overcome the second - tier Plymouth Argyle, getting the job done. Undoubtedly, even in their current form, City remains the most formidable team in the FA Cup. Their outstanding record in the FA Cup quarter - finals speaks volumes.

Pep Guardiola’s side has won each of their last seven FA Cup quarter - final matches. Moreover, the Sky Blues have advanced to the semi - finals of the tournament in each of the past six seasons. No other English team has achieved such a remarkable feat.

This comeback win over Plymouth is City’s latest triumph across all competitions. However, Guardiola’s men have shown inconsistent form recently. They lost 1 - 0 to Nottingham Forest and drew 2 - 2 with Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League. Despite this, their fifth - place standing in the Premier League will likely secure them a spot in the Champions League, thanks to England’s high UEFA coefficient.

Harbouring Champions League aspirations of their own for a short while, Bournemouth can likely forget about having the famous anthem boom out of the Vitality Stadium sound system next term, having lost their golden touch before the two-week hiatus.

Between November 30 and January 25, the Cherries avoided defeat in each of their 12 games across all competitions, but Iraola has now overseen four losses from his side's last eight matches, including a 2-1 home reverse to away-day specialists Brentford last time out.

The 10th-placed hosts are not out of the top-seven picture by any means, though, and a ticket to the Europa League will be theirs if they can pull off a magnificent underdog story in the FA Cup, where they endeavour to reach the semi-finals for the first time in their history.

Twice before have Bournemouth competed at this stage of the tournament, and twice have they been put to the sword, firstly being bested 2-1 by Manchester United in 1957 before succumbing to a 3-0 defeat to Southampton during the 2020-21 edition.

However, Iraola's troops have earned their right to be here courtesy of a 5-1 pummelling of West Bromwich Albion, 2-0 beating of Everton and engrossing penalty-shootout win over Wolves, who had a Matheus Cunha meltdown to partially thank for their last-16 heartbreak.

Never before have Bournemouth and Man City butted heads in the FA Cup, but speaking of firsts, the Cherries' 2-1 top-flight win over Guardiola's men in November marked their inaugural victory against the Sky Blues, whose customary trip to Wembley is far from a guarantee.

City return from the international period with an almost identical group of players, as Rodri (ACL), John Stones (thigh), Nathan Ake (foot) and Manuel Akanji (abductor) are still sidelined, while Oscar Bobb has finally returned to action for the youth team but may not be risked in senior action yet.

Guardiola was at least able to deliver one piece of good news in his pre-game press conference, as first-choice goalkeeper Ederson is set to be available following an abdominal concern, and the knock that Josko Gvardiol sustained on Croatia duty does not appear to be serious.

O'Reilly certainly made his case to start at left-back in the triumph over Plymouth, though, while Haaland spearheads the charge on the back of hitting 100 goal involvements in the Premier League during the draw with Brighton, unsurprisingly doing so in record time in just 94 appearances.

On Bournemouth's side, Iraola will be bemoaning the absence of two of his most integral performers, as in-demand defensive duo Milos Kerkez and Dean Huijsen are both suspended on account of picking up two yellow cards in this season's FA Cup.

Julio Soler should be a like-for-like replacement for Kerkez at left-back, and Iraola might be able to swap out Huijsen for a fit-again Marcos Senesi, who will make the squad but will not be playing the full 90, his manager has confirmed.

James Hill and Ilya Zabarnyi should pair up from the first whistle, though, while Adam Smith (calf), Julian Araujo (thigh), Luis Sinisterra (hamstring) and Enes Unal (knee) are still out of the picture for the time being.

Bournemouth possible starting lineup:

Kepa; Cook, Hill, Zabarnyi, Soler; Christie, Adams; Semenyo, Kluivert, Tavernier; Evanilson

Manchester City possible starting lineup:

Ederson; Lewis, Khusanov, Dias, Gvardiol; Gonzalez, Gundogan; Savinho, Marmoush, Doku; Haaland