Winning the FA Cup in a bad season would be a hope for Manchester City. But so far they have not had any serious rivals in this cup. I can say that there are more ambitious teams than Manchester City in the FA Cup. Pep Guardiola may want to make his fans happy in a bad season by winning the cup, but his game plan is obvious and it is very difficult for them to win the FA Cup with this game understanding. In the league, I think they can easily qualify for the Champions League group stage.
The hope is in the FA Cup which may be much more likely for Manchester City, but even though they do not have a stronger rival, the FA Cup can always surprise.
Pep Guardiola realizes that bad things are happening in the team and they are even struggling to achieve another title this season with the opportunities they have.
In the Premier League itself, they only have the opportunity to reach the Champions League qualifying finish because the title competition is almost certain to belong to Liverpool because so far their chances are still quite big.