City 1 Norwich 0

Sven-Goran Eriksson has oft been painted with the 'lucky' tag, and how much of this is warranted I don't know but to again rest virtually your entire side (making a mockery of my prediction a majority full-strength would feature), not play at all well yet see a striker you have left out of the first team picture since taking over pop up with a last minute winner is good enough for me.

Yet another game without conceding at goal, and are we trying to emulate last seasons unwanted goalscoring record by creating one in our favour? One thing that Eriksson has undoubtedly brought to this group of players is a level of expectation that has perhaps not been seen since our return to the Premiership under Kevin Keegan.

Undoubtedly well prepared and disciplined, Eriksson appears to have the a knack of generating confidence in players and has been evident throughout the season that there is a belief in this squad - both from the new signings and holdover players, that has been sadly lacking in recent times.

Onwards we go into Saturday's draw with a definite air of confidence of being able to progress further in this competition.

Reports:

A late strike by forgotten man Georgios Samaras sent Manchester City through to the Carling Cup fourth round at the expense of Norwich. -MEN.

Sven-Goran Eriksson was frustrated with his squad players after watching a largely second-string Manchester City team struggle past Norwich in the Carling Cup. -metro.co.uk.

The restorative powers of Sven-Goran Eriksson know no bounds at Manchester City. Elevated beyond expectation in the Premier League, the former England manager even coaxed a defining goal from Georgios Samaras last night as the much-maligned striker subjected Norwich City to a late and cruel defeat. -The Guardian.

Georgios Samaras has done little right for Manchester City since Stuart Pearce invested £6 million in his talents 18 months ago, but the Greek forward, who has at times appeared to be a lost cause at Eastlands, chose the 90th minute of this Carling Cup tie to show that he may yet have something Sven-Goran Eriksson can unearth and develop. -The Telegraph.

Georgios Samaras celebrated his first appearance of the season by scoring a last-minute winner for Manchester City last night as the high-flying Premier League side made desperately hard work of defeating the Championship strugglers Norwich City. -The Independent.