Not for the first time, Pep Guardiola stands between Jose Mourinho and achieving his ultimate objective.
In Spain, it was the Catalan and his great Barcelona side that cast a rather large shadow over Mourinho during his time in Madrid. The dynamic was replicated for two-and-a-half seasons in Manchester, with United's Mourinho well short of the standard set by Guardiola’s City.
Now, there is some geographical distance between the two men, but their fates are intertwined once again.
Mourinho was hired by Tottenham in the hope he would bring silverware to a club that hasn’t lifted a trophy for 12 years and Guardiola will put up one final barrier to his adversary delivering on this, with City and the North London side set to face off in April’s Carabao Cup final.
When is the Carabao Cup final?
The final was initially scheduled for February 28 but will now be played on Sunday, April 25, with kick-off at 16:00 BST.
Where will the final take place and can fans attend?
The final is due to held at Wembley, with Manchester City facing Tottenham.
The date has been pushed back by the EFL in the hope that fans will be able to attend by then.
It will be another episode in a managerial rivalry that came to define an era of the European game. Guardiola and Mourinho tend to stay out of each other’s way these days, but they won’t be able to keep their distance on the Wembley touchline.
City have spent the last few weeks building and look to be finding form at the right time. Guardiola has given his side a sound defensive base by installing Ruben Dias and John Stones as his first-choice centre-back pairing.
Joao Cancelo has grown into the modern, dynamic full-back City needed while Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden and Ilkay Gundogan are the creative core around which Guardiola’s team revolves.
He has long used the Carabao Cup to set the tone for the closing phase of the season that comes after the competition’s final, traditionally in February, and incredibly City will now go in pursuit of a fourth straight triumph.
This year’s final may have been pushed back to April in the hope some supporters will be permitted to attend, but nonetheless, this cup run has once again helped Manchester City gather momentum as they are now firmly in the Premier League title race, too.
The danger City will pose will certainly be far greater than most of what Tottenham faced to get to this stage.
Three of the four teams they were drawn against (Leyton Orient, Stoke and Brentford) were Sky Bet EFL sides, but having played more games than any other top-flight team this season, Spurs deserve enormous credit for reaching the final.
Mourinho will now need to find a way to lift his players’ game to take on City. Of course, he’s already done this once before this season.
Their 2-0 win in November provides Mourinho with a template to follow.
Guardiola’s side claimed 66% of possession that night, but played into Tottenham’s hands, with Mourinho’s men making the most of the space left in behind on the rapid counter attack.
Harry Kane and Son Heung-min were exceptional and Spurs will need similar performance levels from their two best players. Only that, and an absolute ruthlessness will be enough to avoid being flattened by the Manchester City machine.
Make no mistake, this machine is indeed rolling. There has been a lot of talk about a potential Manchester United title challenge this season, but it’s the blue half of the city that are the genuine threat to Liverpool's crown.
Guardiola’s process has been a clear and well executed one to this point. That process could see City grow even stronger by April.
Spurs have gone through their own development under Mourinho and the Carabao Cup final could mark both the end of the stage one, and the start of much bigger aspirations.
His brief was to turn Tottenham into winners. April presents a first chance to do exactly that.
