Though Man City's 6-0 annihilation of Chelsea has been the low point of Sarri's reign – coming just weeks after a shock 4-0 loss to Bournemouth and a 2-0 defeat by Arsenal – it was the Londoners who put an end to Guardiola's unbeaten Premier League season with a 2-0 victory in December.

Sarri will be counting on his team for a repeat of the earlier league performance as he seeks to assert his future at Stamford Bridge. The Blues will be buoyed by strong recent performances against Malmo in the Europa League, though a 2-0 loss to Manchester United in the FA Cup barely a week ago will no doubt be fresh in their minds.

For Guardiola, lifting the Carabao Cup trophy could be the start of an epic pursuit of the quadruple, with his Man City side still strong challengers in the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup.

Man City defeated Arsenal 3-0 in the Carabao Cup final a year ago, and have no weakness in buckling under pressure in cup competitions so far this season.

Aguero equalled Alan Shearer's record of most Premier League hat-tricks scored (11) when he last faced Chelsea and has been in incredible form in front of goal over the course of the current campaign.

Though he has been tipped to be given the sack as Chelsea manager, the Italian's record has seen him win 28 of his first 43 games in charge – one more than Guardiola managed at the Etihad in his debut campaign.

“Because he was lucky," Sarri said about the inconsistent treatment received between himself and Guardiola. "I don't know. You have to ask the club. You have to ask both, Manchester City and Chelsea. But I don't know if I am under pressure from my club or from you.

"I don't know at the moment. I think that, if you choose Guardiola, you have to wait because the club knows very well that Guardiola needs time. It's not really very easy for an English team to play that kind of football, so it's normal."