With Manchester City’s season on the cusp of disaster, the Emirates FA Cup presents Pep Guardiola and his side their only clear sight at silverware this season, with a place in the quarter-finals up for grabs against Plymouth Argyle at the Etihad Stadium in Saturday’s evening fixture [17:45 GMT].
City will go into the game looking to avoid becoming Argyle’s next victims of a cupset, as Liverpool were memorably dumped out of the competition at Home Park by the Pilgrims at the beginning of February.
Miron Muslić has seen his Argyle side make strides forward in hoping to avoid relegation in the Sky Bet Championship, picking up five points from five games following the victory over Arne Slot’s side to rise to 22nd in the league table.
An upturn in results following that shock victory over the Premier League leaders may see the Pilgrims carry more belief heading into another cup tie, where there’ll be no pressure on the Devonshire side against a side that was crowned as European champions less than two years ago. It is a free hit for Argyle which – potentially – could turn into a fairytale cup run.
With City scraping past Sky Bet League One side Leyton Orient in their last FA Cup outing, Guardiola will be seeking to ensure complacency will not be the scourge of the Cityzens as they look to avoid their first trophyless season in eight years.
The Stats
Saturday’s Emirates FA Cup fifth-round meeting between the sides will be their first encounter since 1989, with that clash seeing Manchester City emerge victorious in a 2-0 win over Plymouth Argyle at Maine Road.
There has only ever been one prior meeting between the sides in the FA Cup, with City toppling the Pilgrims in a 3-1 win in 1988.
Manchester City come into Saturday’s tie on the back of some patchy form following their elimination from the UEFA Champions League at the hands of Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid and succumbing to Arne Slot’s Liverpool at the Etihad last Sunday. Guardiola’s side did return to winning ways on Wednesday evening though, defeating Ange Postecoglu’s Spurs courtesy of a goal from the returning Erling Haaland.
Embed from Getty ImagesLast time out in the Emirates FA Cup, City were victorious in their fourth-round tie against Leyton Orient, scraping past their Sky Bet League One opponents in a 2-1 win at Brisbane Road with Kevin De Bruyne netting the winner. With many elite rivals having already been eliminated from this year’s FA Cup, Guardiola will be keen to salvage at least one trophy to add to the cabinet amidst a poor season by City’s standards.
Their opponents this weekend, Plymouth Argyle, were the giant slayers in the fourth-round as they sent Liverpool out of the competition at Home Park in a 1-0 win for the Devon side. Ryan Hardie’s second half penalty proved to be the difference for Muslić’s side.
Since that famous victory over the current Premier League leaders, the Pilgrims have encountered a mixed bag of results in the Sky Bet Championship, with victory over Millwall, draws against Luton Town and Cardiff City and a solitary defeat away to Blackburn Rovers.
Team News
Manchester City will be without Rodri, Manuel Akanji and John Stones due to injury. Oscar Bobb is closing in on a return to full fitness, but this weekend’s game will come too soon for the young Norwegian talent.
Guardiola is expected to make a number of changes to the City side that beat Spurs in midweek, with Stefan Ortega, Rico Lewis, Vitor Reis, Nathan Aké, James McAtee and Jack Grealish among those pushing for a recall.
Another name who could be involved in the matchday squad is new signing Claudio Echeverri. The 19-year-old attacking midfielder has now arrived in Manchester after featuring at the Under-20 South American Championship, where he captained Argentina to a runners-up finish.
Embed from Getty ImagesAs for Argyle, Muhamed Tijani is facing a couple of weeks out with a hamstring injury and joins fourth-round hero Ryan Hardie, Brendan Galloway, and Joe Edwards in the treatment room. The absences of Tijani and Hardie leaves Plymouth light in the attacking department, but Mustapha Bundu has operated as a number nine in recent matches and could lead the line once again, while on-loan Burnley striker Michael Obafemi is the only natural centre-forward available.
Maksym Talovierov, Nikola Katić and Julio Pleguezuelo could all line up in a three-man defence, as they did against Liverpool, with Matthew Sorinola and Tymoteusz Puchacz playing as wing-backs, while ex-Man City youngster Darko Gyabi could be recalled in midfield.
TV Guide
Tickets have now been reduced to restricted sale after reports of traveling Argyle supporters purchasing tickets in the home section. City have cancelled a number of tickets purchased by fans with a ‘registered address in the Plymouth area’ who ‘had not previously purchased a ticket’ at Etihad Stadium.
However, the game has been selected for live broadcast in the United Kingdom. Supporters can view the match on ITV4 or ITVX with coverage starting at 17:00 GMT ahead of kickoff at 17:45 GMT.
FromTheSpot Prediction
Despite Argyle’s heroics in the last round that should give the Pilgrims some hope, we envisage a stern test at the Etihad that will see Guardiola’s side advance into the quarter-finals as 4-1 winners.
City will be desperate to claim the last remaining piece of silverware realistically on offer to them this season following their elimination from the UEFA Champions League and historic rivals Liverpool seemingly running away with the Premier League trophy.
Arsenal, Spurs, Chelsea and Liverpool have already been dumped out from this year’s FA Cup, leaving more favourable opposition in their wake. Guardiola will be keen to make sure complacency will not be an issue against their Devonshire opponents as City strive to advance to the quarter-finals of this year’s Emirates FA Cup.