Both Wolves and Manchester City made wholesale changes to their respective teams with Mick McCarthy making nine alterations and Roberto Mancini resting all 11 players that defeated Manchester United 6-1 on Sunday.
Stephen Ward and Kevin Doyle were the only Wolves players to keep their place in the side while Kolo Toure, Samir Nasri and debutant Luca Scapuzzi all started for City.
Both teams looked energetic from the start but it was Wolves who looked the dominant force early on. The home team tested City with plenty of enticing crosses but all of them were dealt with confidently by the Mancini’s defence.
Stephen Hunt proved lively early on with a penetrating run through the visitor's backline, but was obstructed by Stefan Savic who picked up a yellow card.
Hunt then linked up well with Stephen Ward on the left flank and crossed a fizzing ball to David Edwards who headed over the crossbar.
Wolves continued to pile on the pressure and had a penalty claim turned down after a quarter of an hour, as Aleksandar Kolarov seemingly nudged the ball out of play with his arm.
The pressure eventually paid off for Wolves as they bagged the first goal of the night on the 18th minute. Sam Vokes showed good skill on the right, flying past Toure before crossing a low ball into the path of Milijas who smashed home past the helpless Costel Pantilimon.
Hopes fade | Adam Johnson's effort flies past Dorus de Vries as Man City draw level
City came close to an equaliser minutes later after Kolarov found Scapuzzi, who turned well inside the box but shot wide.
Wolves then saw their lead quickly capitulate as City scored three goals in quick succession. With 10 minutes remaining before half time, Zabaleta found Dzeko who unselfishly fed the ball to Johnson on the edge of the box and the England international rifled the ball past De Vries.
Nasri then put the Blues in front - confidently firing the ball into the bottom left after being fed a scintillating pass by Johnson.
Minutes later, Johnson was involved again. He crossed a cracking ball into the far post and, after Scapuzzi’s effort was saved, Dzeko’s attacking instincts came into play as he put away the rebound a few yards from goal.
Within five minutes of the second half, Wolves problems were exacerbated as City grabbed their fourth of the game. Kolarov found himself in acres of space down the left flank, crossing the ball to Nasri, but after his shot was saved, Scapuzzi forced an own-goal from the scrambling De Vries.
There was no halt as City continued to prove their credentials, this time Nasri, Dzeko and Scapuzzi all combined well on the edge of the box as the young Italian found Dzeko, who grabbed his second goal of the evening from two yards out.
In an attempt to get back into the game, under-fire McCarthy brought on Jamie O’Hara and Karl Henry, with the former making an immediate impact. Ward picked out O’Hara from the left flank and the former Tottenham man clinically slotted the ball past the young Romanian keeper.
The result provides another resounding victory for Mancini's side as they progress to the quarter-finals of the competition, whilst struggling Wolves will hope they can exact meaningful revenge when the two sides meet in the Premier League on Saturday at Eastlands. Source www.goal.com/
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