Manchester City vs Huddersfield prediction: ENGLAND: FA Cup betting tips on match 2024-01-06 14:00.
After lifting the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup title and subsequently returning to Premier League action with successive wins against Everton and Sheffield United, Manchester City now begin the defence of their FA Cup crown. Championship side Huddersfield Town provide the opposition, with boss Pep Guardiola likely to rotate his troops as a result, especially as he maintains a six-match unbeaten H2H run (W4, D2) with the only home FA Cup tie in that time delivering a huge 5-1 victory.
Despite returning to winning ways of late, there is still room for improvement for City, especially if they’re to get anywhere near repeating their famous treble from last season. The bulk of that work is needed in defence, as Guardiola’s side have kept just one clean sheet across their last ten outings outside of the Club World Cup (W5, D4, L1), though they haven’t lost any of their prior 33 competitive home matches ahead of a return to the Etihad.
Life this season is proving a little more difficult for visiting Huddersfield, who after losing 4-1 away to Leicester City on New Year's Day, saw their safety buffer to the Championship relegation spots cut to just three points. That result in turn extended their poor form of recording just one win from their past eight outings (D3, L4) which hardly stands as ideal preparation ahead of this short trip over the Pennines.
With 44 goals conceded across their 26 league outings this season, only three teams have a leakier backline than Huddersfield in England’s second tier. On top of that, on eight occasions this campaign across all competitions the Terriers have conceded 3+ goals in a single match, an unwanted record that could be further extended here if they’re not at their very best.
Players to watch: After grabbing a brace of assists last time out, Man City’s Phil Foden has now been directly involved in 17 strikes across all competitions this campaign (G9, A8). Huddersfield defender Michał Helik will primarily be out to keep him quiet, but he’s a threat at the other end too, netting seven goals this season, six of which have come away from home.
Hot stat: Huddersfield have conceded 16 goals across the last five H2Hs.