Manchester United are heavy favourites to beat Championship side Bristol City when the sides clash in a Carabao Cup quarter-final on Wednesday night but Red Devils midfielder Juan Mata has warned his teammates not to take their progression for granted.

“As we said a week ago, we didn’t feel like remembering past games. All we wanted to do was to focus on the next challenges. The two wins that we got this week show that the team has the ability and the character to keep walking its path, moving forward instead of moaning when things don’t go the way we wanted,” Mata penned on his blog.

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“Firstly we got the three points in a really tough game at Bournemouth. They made it hard for us but that’s no news in the Premier League, where you know that you will have to go through some difficulties in every single game.”

Despite playing at home, United laboured to a 1-0 win over the Cherries in mid-week as they put their derby day disappointment behind them.

“The key is to get over them and to create your chances to win, chances that you eventually have to take, of course. That’s what we did and it gave us a lot of confidence to face the second match of the week against West Bromwich Albion. It was another complex and tough game, and we couldn’t close it until the final whistle despite taking the lead in the first half with two nice goals from Romelu (Lukaku) and Jesse (Lingard).”

United travelled to West Bromwich Albion on Sunday for round 17 of the Premier League and took a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Lukaku and Jesse Lingard before a Gareth Barry strike made for a nervy final 15 minutes but the Red Devils hung on for their 13th league win of the season.

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“This week we also have a ‘double session’, what else could it be?”

“We have the Carabao Cup on Wednesday against Bristol City. They are having a sensational season in the Championship so far, and with a few consecutive wins lately they have proved to be one of the candidates to get promoted. It won’t be an easy game.”

“A few days later we will play the third away game in a row, at Leicester. It’s going to be on the day before Christmas Eve, so I’d like to take this opportunity to wish you all a happy festive season; I hope that you can enjoy Christmas with your beloved ones. My family is coming to Manchester so we will spend this special time of the year together,” added the diminutive Spaniard.