Manchester City begin their FA Cup journey on Saturday when they host second division side Salford City in the third round.
The Cityzens endured a few months of mediocrity and poor performance but bounced back with back-to-back wins over Leicester City and West Ham United in Premier League. With games against Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal over the next month, Saturday could provide Pep Guardiola with the opportunity to rest a number of first-team players.
Salford, which are owned by a group of ex Manchester United player, will aim for a big surprise of last season’s FA Cup finalists. Karl Robinson’s team have won their last six games without conceding a goal and will head to the Etihad Stadium with full confidence.
Here 90 minutes a guide to Man City against Salford.
Man City vs Salford H2H record
This is the first competitive meeting between Man City and Salford.
Current form (all competitions)
|
Man City |
Salford |
|---|---|
|
Man City 4-1 West Ham – 01.04.25 |
MK Dons 0-1 Salford – 01.04.25 |
|
Leicester 0-2 Man City – 29.12.24 |
Harrogate 0-2 Salford – 1.1.25 |
|
Man City 1-1 Everton – 26.12.24 |
Salford 1-0 Morecambe – 29.12.24 |
|
Aston Villa 2-1 Man City – 21.12.24 |
Salford 3-0 Barrow – 26.12.24 |
|
Man City 1-2 Man Utd – 15.12.24 |
Accrington 0-2 Salford – 21.12.24 |
|
Earth |
TV channel/live broadcast |
|---|---|
|
Great Britain |
BBC One, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport Website |
|
United States |
ESPN+, the ESPN app |
|
Canada |
Sportsnet World Now, Sportsnet Now, Sportsnet World, Sportsnet One, Sportsnet Now Plus |
Man City are likely to be without a number of key players for the visit to Salford. John Stones and Ruben Dias are making progress in their recovery from injury but remain sidelined, while Ederson is unlikely to feature despite his recent return to training.
Oscar Bobb is getting closer to a return but is still a long way from returning from a broken leg, while Rodri will almost certainly miss the rest of the campaign with a torn ACL.
Youngsters such as Nico O’Reilly, Jahmai Simpson-Pusey and James McAtee could all be given invaluable opportunities.
Predicted line-up for Man City vs Salford (3-2-4-1): Ortega; Walker, Simpson-Pusey, Guardiol; O’Reilly, Gundogan; Doku, McAtee, Nunes, Grealish; Haaland.
Salford have been climbing the League Two table in recent weeks and now sit in third place as they chase automatic promotion to the third tier. Despite their struggle for league success, they are still likely to field their strongest XI at the Etihad.
Man City fans may recognize a few faces in Salford’s line-up on Saturday. Former Liverpool academy product Ben Woodburn is doubtful through injury, while former Everton defender Luke Garbutt will line up in defence. 35-year-old Wales international James Chester had a brief spell with Man Utd as a youngster before playing for Hull City and Aston Villa.
Predicted line-up of Salford against Man City (3-5-2): Young; Edwards, Negro, Berkoe; Taylor, Fornah, Ashley, Lund, Garbutt; Kouassi, Stockton.
Man City have an excellent opportunity to not only progress to the fourth round, but secure a third consecutive win while resting key players. Salford are not to be underestimated, but Guardiola’s side should secure a nice win on paper.
Man City’s defensive woes give Robinson’s side the chance to get on the scoresheet at the Etihad, but that is unlikely to be much more than a consolation as the hosts look to secure passage to the next round.
Prediction: Man City 4-1 Salford
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