Gary Neville believes Manchester City have impacted English football so much in recent seasons that it has changed the way Chelsea and Liverpool approach cup competitions.
Prior to this season, Man City were victorious in four successive campaigns in the Carabao Cup, until this term saw Liverpool and Chelsea reach the final - with the former lifting the trophy after a dramatic penalty shootout victory.
The final at Wembley was played at such a high level, with both the Blues and the Reds defending solidly and attacking with plenty of intent and danger. Despite the match being 0-0, after extra-time, many have regarded it as a hugely entertaining watch.
With Man City being so dominant in the cup competitions in recent seasons and depriving the likes of Chelsea and Liverpool of the English trophies, Neville thinks Pep Guardiola's impact at the Etihad Stadium has changed the approach of the aforementioned duo.
Speaking while on co-commentary duty for Sky Sports, the former Manchester United and England right-back said: "You look at the way Manchester City - the best team in the country for the last few years now - have approached this tournament. They have won it five out of the last six times.
"Liverpool and Chelsea, probably second and third best teams in the country at this moment in time. They really are treating this competition seriously.
"We have had fantastic finals and it has been, at times, the springboard for future successes that are greater like [going on to win] the Premier League or the Champions League."
Chelsea go to Luton Town on Wednesday evening in their FA Cup fifth round clash as they look to take a step closer to reaching Wembley once again later in the season.
There is no doubt Thomas Tuchel is taking the cup competitions very seriously. Speaking towards the start of January, after Chelsea cruised past Chesterfield 5-1 in the third round, the German coach insisted his side took the game "seriously".
"I’m happy with the attitude and how we started," Tuchel said after the game in January. "We started strong and decided the match very early. This is what we wanted.
"It is never perfect but it was very professional. We were running out of defenders at the end of the match so unfortunately we conceded one goal but in general everything was fine because we approached the match very seriously and decided it very early."
