Manchester City play host to Arsenal in the FA Cup tonight, with Pep Guardiola no doubt wanting his side to set down a marker ahead of the crucially important upcoming fixtures against the Gunners in the Premier League.

The Citizens are currently five points behind Mikel Arteta's side in the top flight having played a game more but still have to face Arsenal twice in the league, which emphasises that the title race is far from over.

Therefore, it is imperative that City attempt to knock Arsenal's confidence with a win in the FA Cup this evening and Guardiola should hand Joao Cancelo a start after dropping him for recent fixtures.

The Portugal international has lost his starting place to 18-year-old Rico Lewis on a number of occasions since the World Cup break, with his only two 90 minutes resulting in two defeats against Southampton and Manchester United respectively.

He was also hooked at half-time in the 1-0 win against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, which suggests that he certainly isn't in Guardiola's good books right now.

Reports seem to confirm this, with Spanish journalist Jose Alvarez reporting that a number of first-team regulars including Cancelo, Kyle Walker, Aymeric Laporte, Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva are all "disgruntled" with the current situation at the Etihad.

The Telegraph recently reported that the Portuguese star was attracting interest from around Europe after losing his place in the side, so there's no guarantee he will remain at the Etihad Stadium much past January, let alone the summer transfer window.

It is perhaps not a surprise that some players are unhappy, as Guardiola didn't hold back in his criticism of his players after the recent comeback win against Tottenham Hotspur, suggesting that he didn't recognise his team.

However, with Lewis forced off with injury against Spurs, it opens the door for Cancelo to start and hopefully rediscover some of the form that saw him recognised as one of the best in the world last season.

Since his £60m switch from Juventus in 2019, the former Valencia dynamo has gone on to make 154 appearances for the Citizens, contributing nine goals and 22 assists.

Part of Arsenal's success this season has come from Oleksandr Zinchenko being afforded the freedom to roam from his left-back position and almost play as another midfielder but if Cancelo is given license to push forward and support Riyad Mahrez on the right-hand side, it could force the Ukrainian back into a more defensive area.

There is no doubt that the Portuguese defender is capable of being a world-class playmaker on his day and if Guardiola wants to repair his seemingly strained relationship with the 28-year-old, then he must restore him to the starting side against the Gunners tonight.