Plymouth goalkeeper Conor Hazard has prepared for penalties against Manchester City knowing history could be on his side should the FA Cup fifth-round tie be settled by spot-kicks.
Hazard was in the Celtic goal when Neil Lennon’s team beat Hearts on penalties in the 2020 Scottish Cup final at Hampden Park.
The Northern Ireland international stopped attempts from Stephen Kingsley and Craig Wighton as Celtic triumphed 4-3 in the spot-kick contest after a 3-3 draw.
“We did well in that game but as a goalkeeper you prepare for penalties in every game,” said Hazard, mindful that Saturday’s tie at the Etihad Stadium must be settled on the day following the scrapping of FA Cup replays.
“You’ve got to kind of have an idea what you’re going to be coming up against, what’s their preferred side and what to do.
“We’ll try to keep the game going as long as possible and there’s every chance a game like this could go to penalties. We’ll definitely do some preparation on that.”
Plymouth are 22nd in the Sky Bet Championship and three points from safety, despite their upturn in fortunes since Miron Muslic succeeded Wayne Rooney in the Pilgrims’ dugout.
Argyle won at Brentford in round three, then stunned Premier League leaders Liverpool at Home Park – and now hope lightning strikes a third time in Manchester.
Hazard said: “We’ve got 8,000 people going up there to support us so we don’t want to let anyone down.
“We did such a good job against Liverpool and hopefully we can do the same at the Etihad.
“We’re all really up for it. We know the task ahead and what we need to do to try and get a result there. That’s our aim.”
Hazard could be the busiest man in Manchester on Saturday with Erling Haaland, Omar Marmoush and company in front of him.
But the 26-year-old remains philosophical about the challenge ahead, saying: “Sometimes you never expect to be busy and you can have one of your busier games.
“Against Liverpool I expected to be busy throughout the whole game and I only had to make a couple of saves at the end.
“You don’t really think about that going into any game. You’ve just got to prepare yourself and make sure that you feel ready to go.
“If we set up our own structure and do what the manager asks us to do, then we’ve got a right chance.
“The cup has been a good morale boost for everybody, beating two Premier League teams has shown everyone in the squad what we can do.”