MANCHESTER City manager Pep Guardiola has admitted that Newport County AFC will be “better” and “stronger” than his side in some aspects of the game when they meet at Rodney Parade tomorrow.

The reigning champions are top of the Premier League having thumped Chelsea 6-0 last week and have a squad worth £500m or more.

But they were knocked out of the FA Cup at League One Wigan Athletic in the fifth-round last year and Guardiola is wary of another major upset at the same stage this season.

“We prepare with a lot of respect,” said the City boss. “They have done incredible things in this competition – beating Leicester and Middlesbrough – and what they do, they do really well.

“We watched them as much as possible to understand what they do and they do it really well. We respect them a lot.

“We saw what happened with Wigan last season and in a cup competition, especially away, anything can happen.

“We will take it seriously and we know how tough it will be from the first minute until the end,” he added.

“If we expect, because they are in a lower division, that it will be easy we will be making a big mistake.

“My players are ready. I don’t have any doubts. They are focused and prepared to play their own game.”

South Wales Argus:

Guardiola has watched the Exiles’ wins over Leicester City and Middlesbrough and his players are prepared for the threats that Michael Flynn’s men will pose.

“Normally, when we play in the Premier League, the players already know about their opponents,” he said.

“These players they didn’t know, but now they know a little bit – with [Robbie] Willmott, with [Jamille] Matt, with [Scot] Bennett, with [Padraig] Amond.

“Both their strikers have scored 14 or 15 goals, they are incredibly good in the set-pieces and the throw-ins.

“They go for the second balls and they use the channels to get the ball into the box.

“If we defend deeper, especially in our box, we are going to suffer because they are taller and stronger than us.

“In some areas they are better than us and we have to try to bring our game in the way we are stronger than them.

“I saw the games against Leicester and Middlesbrough and they were outstanding in the second game – they were much better than Middlesbrough.”

South Wales Argus:

The state of the pitch at Rodney Parade has been a big talking point in the build-up to tomorrow’s match, but Guardiola says it will be no excuse for his team.

“They play at home and they can do what they want,” he said. “We have to adapt. It is what it is and we accept the challenge.

“We played in the Premier League against Tottenham [at Wembley] when two days before they played two NFL games.

“It happened in the Premier League, so why shouldn’t it with a team in a lower division?

“I’ve seen matches here in England from the 1960s, 70s and 80s and the pitches were bad. Now most of them are perfect.

“We will see, we might have to play longer or quicker. But you don’t win anything complaining about that.

“My players, when they were young, have played on this type of pitch many times.”

Guardiola confirmed that he will make changes from the side that demolished Chelsea, but some of the big names – including Kevin De Bruyne – will make the trip.

“[Benjamin] Mendy and [Vincent] Kompany are not ready,” said the manager. “But Kevin is fit and he travels.

“There will be a few players who didn’t play in the last game but we are preparing to win the game with the best squad possible. It will be a strong squad.

“After that we will think about Schalke [on Wednesday] and then the final [of the Carabao Cup against Chelsea next Sunday].”

Read more: Pipe wants Pep souvenir after FA Cup showdown

Read more: Flynn believes biggest cup shock is possible

* Kick-off tomorrow is at 5.30pm. You can follow all the action, including the build up, with our live blog. Get involved using the Twitter hashtag #OneClubOneCounty