Bristol City-Manchester City is a match in the round of 16 of the FA Cup and is played on Tuesday at 21:00: odds, predictions, TV and streaming.
Along with Tottenham, the other two big names left in contention to win the 2022-23 FA Cup are Manchester City and Manchester United. Pep Guardiola hasn’t won this trophy since 2019, and to reach the round of 16 they had to overcome two hard men like Chelsea and Arsenal: it is indeed quite unusual – but not impossible, as there are no top seeds in this competition – for such big matches to happen in the first round.
His City, however, have not been fazed and in recent weeks have got the better of both the Blues, who were thrashed 4-0 at the Etihad Stadium, and the Gunners (1-0), with whom they are competing for the Premier League title. In the round of 16 they will instead face a much softer opponent on paper, that of Bristol City, a club that plays in the Championship, the equivalent of our Serie B, with whom there is a fairly recent precedent, again in a national competition. In the 2017-18 season, the Citizens met the Robins in the semi-finals of the League Cup and obtained two very narrow victories. De Bruyne and his team-mates are coming off a resounding success at home to Bournemouth (1-4): a match with no history, with the reigning champions leading 3-0 at half-time.
Three points that allowed Manchester City to respond to Arsenal’s victory and keep the gap on the leader unchanged: between the Gunners and the Citizens there are currently only two points, but tomorrow Arteta’s team will recover the challenge against Everton.
Scott and Mehmeti
In the Championship, on the other hand, Bristol City are going from strength to strength. Nigel Pearson’s men have won three times in their last five matches and are unbeaten since December. In the previous round they eliminated West Bromwich, before that they needed a replay (and penalties) to get the better of Welsh side Swansea. The playoff zone, however, remains nine points away, with the Robins currently thirteenth.
The prediction
Manchester City’s missteps this season have not been few and far between, and that is mainly the reason why they are lagging behind Arsenal. Guardiola, however, intends to field a fairly competitive eleven. And, as he has done in recent matches against lower-ranked teams, he will not run the risk of underestimating the opponent. The total goals could be at least three.
The Bristol City-Manchester City line-up probables
- BRISTOL CITY (4-2-3-1): O’Leary; Tanner, Vyner, Kalas, Pring; James, Williams; Sykes, Scott, Bell; Wells.
- MANCHESTER CITY (4-3-3): Ortega; Lewis, Ruben Dias, Aké, Gomez; Bernardo Silva, Phillips, Gundogan; Mahrez, Alvarez, Foden.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 1-3
