Guardiola calls for greater Man City support after FA Cup win

The Spaniard wasn't happy to see a number of empty seats as his side strolled past the Cottagers

manager Pep Guardiola has encouraged the club's fans to turn up in greater numbers following their 4-0 win over Fulham in the FA Cup fourth round.

Guardiola's side made light work of their Championship opponents on Sunday with goals from Ilkay Gundogan, Bernardo Silva and a Gabriel Jesus double wrapping up a routine victory.

A relatively small crowd of 39,223 watched on at Etihad Stadium - 15,000 fewer than attended the club's last home Premier League game against .

The number of fans didn't go unnoticed by Guardiola, who urged them to return in greater numbers ahead of their Carabao Cup semi-final second leg against Manchester United on Wednesday.

"Today was not full - I don't know why," Guardiola said post-match.

"[Wednesday] is a chance to come back to Wembley for three years in a row. Hopefully our fans can come, more people than today.

"Hopefully they can support us more and make an intelligent game to reach the final."

City claimed a 3-1 away win against the Red Devils in the first leg having lifted the trophy last season after edging past in the final on penalties.

While critical of the fan turnout on Sunday, Guardiola did single out City fans for praise last month after a 3-1 league win over .

“I think today the spectators were incredible,” he said in December.

“We played so good. When that happens, our fans are always behind us. I have the feeling they are there when we play good. But we need them. The players deserve it.

“I need my fans when we concede a goal but have played incredibly well. We need them. We can’t always play 90 minutes perfect.

“Inside the first ten minutes we were not good. We lost some balls. We didn’t play simple. We didn’t start to connect again after the half-time break.

“In the bad moments, we need them. When the opponent is good, we need them to be a better team.”

Guardiola's men have won seven of their past eight games in all competitions and currently sit second in the Premier League - 16 points shy of .