MANCHESTER -- Manchester City are playing down talk of a quadruple. And it's mentioned so little that Ilkay Gundogan doesn't even know the meaning of the word.
City, who are 15 points clear at the top of the Premier League as well as still competing in the Champions League and FA Cup, can take a step closer to a first trophy by beating Bristol City in the Carabao Cup semifinal on Tuesday night.
Pep Guardiola says it is "not realistic" to believe that City can win all trophies, but Gundogan insists they are not getting carried away about winning everything.
Asked about City's chances of winning the quadruple, the Germany midfielder replied to reporters: "The what? I didn't know that word before. I heard it now for the first time, really, honestly!"
After being told it's meaning, Gundogan added: "Of course we know we are situated well in all competitions and the first one is the Carabao Cup the closest one, and we want to win it. If we don't, we will be disappointed, that's clear. Everything else is in the future.
"We've just had the third round of the FA Cup and there is a long way to go in the Premier League and in the Champions League there are lot of contenders as well. All competitions are very difficult, but we have chances [to win all four trophies].
"If we are able to play as we did in the last five, six months then our chances, they just increase. So that is our target."
City have just come through a busy December -- having played nine games and they will have played another eight games by the end on this month.
That schedule will only get more hectic if they continue to make progress in the cup competitions but Gundogan, 27, doesn't see any reason why they can't cope with the demands.
"I am quite sure we can [cope]," he said. "I think the more games we have, the more opportunities to change players. If we have less games then a player, two or three players, will sit on the bench unsatisfied with their situation.
"But we have a lot of games and we just have to change because a player cannot play every single game. So if a player is playing more, he's going to be happier.
"That was also my own situation over the last month. I was quite sure we are going to have so many games coming and always have the opportunities for me to play, to get minutes, to get a rhythm.
"When I don't play I'm not the most happiest person on Earth, but the next day I'm convinced my chance will come again and I'm going to play again. It's a positive thing being in more competitions."
City are huge favourites to reach the Carabao Cup final but Gundogan says they can't take Championship side Bristol City lightly, particularly as they have already knocked out four Premier League teams, including Manchester United in the last round.
"I've watched the highlights but just the fact they beat United shows we need to take this game very seriously," he added.
"They showed they are able to break teams so we are aware of it. But despite all these facts, our aim is to beat them."