Bristol City vs Manchester City prediction: ENGLAND: FA Cup betting tips on match 2023-02-27 20:00.
Bristol City havenât progressed past the fifth round of the FA Cup since 1973/1974, which was interestingly the fifth and final season in which the tournament finished with a third/fourth place play-off. Nigel Pearsonâs side are targeting the Championship play-offs in May but line up for their sternest test of the season against Manchester City in good form as theyâre unbeaten in 12 games (W6, D6).
The Robins must feel they can challenge anyone at Ashton Gate, where theyâre unbeaten in seven matches (W4, D3) and have only lost one of their last five FA Cup fixtures (W2, D2), although that was after extra-time. Bristol City have also proved they have an eye for a giant killing here, beating Cityâs rivals Manchester United 2-1 in the League Cup back in 2017, with highly-rated midfielder Alex Scott, nicknamed the âGuernsey Grealishâ, hoping to spearhead that upset on what he insists will be a âspecial occasion for everyone at the clubâ.
Jack Grealish, the man on whom Scott modelled his game, aims to help Man City continue their pursuit of a seventh FA Cup title and extend their five-match unbeaten run (W3, D2) following Saturdayâs 4-1 league win over Bournemouth. City scored and conceded in all five of those games though, suggesting that Pep Guardiolaâs side wonât have everything their own way in the West Country.
Theyâll still start as clear favourites as they havenât lost in this competition to a non-Premier League side since February 2018 (1-0 vs Wigan ), which was also the last time they lost an FA Cup game away from the Etihad Stadium before the semi-finals. Ahead of another lengthy trip, with this being Cityâs fifth in succession, Guardiola also had the luxury of resting players late on against Bournemouth, which should help their cause here.
Players to watch: Nahki Wells netted penalties after the 65th minute in each of Bristol Cityâs last two matches, so heâll be poised to punish any late mistakes the visitors make. JuliĂĄn Ălvarez will be trying to help Man City put the tie to bed early though after scoring the opener against Bournemouth and netting a first-half penalty in the third round against Chelsea.
Hot streak: All three H2Hs this century (Man City: W3) produced scoring after the 80th minute.