It’s David vs Goliath at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon, when Premier League giants Manchester City host League Two promotion-hopefuls Salford in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
The Citizens thrashed The Ammies 8-0 when they met in the third round of last season’s competition, as Pep Guardiola’s side eventually fell short in their pursuit of glory when losing 1-0 to Crystal Palace in the final.
Saturday’s fourth-round tie is due to kick off at 15:00 and while it has not been chosen for TV coverage, you can keep up to date via the Official Man City App.
Man City predicted lineup vs Salford
Man City Predicted XI (4-3-3): Trafford; Nunes, Alleyne, Stones, Lewis; Reijnders, O’Reilly, Gonzalez; McAidoo, Cherki, Marmoush
Man City team news vs Salford
City are still without the services of Josko Gvardiol, Mateo Kovavic and Jeremy Doku due to injury, while Savinho and Erling Haaland are both doubts.
Norway international Haaland scored before coming off at half-time in Wednesday’s 3-0 Premier League win over Fulham, with Guardiola revealing the striker was fatigued and it was the sensible decision to substitute him.
Omar Marmoush is likely to lead the line in Haaland’s absence and the Egyptian did bag a brace in the 3-1 League Cup victory against Newcastle three matches ago.
England defender John Stones hasn’t played since the start of December but he was back on the bench for the victory over the Cottagers and he is expected to be handed a start for this cup contest.
Goalkeeper James Trafford will come into the side in place of number one Gianluigi Donnarumma and the Englishman has performed well when deputising for the Italian, having kept three clean sheets in his last five outings.
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Guardiola to rotate against local League Two opponents
While City haven’t been at their best this season, they are still in contention to become the first Premier League side to complete the quadruple and that is testament to the grit and determination of this squad.
Guardiola has seen his side suffer seven defeats in all competitions this season, most recently losing 3-1 to Bodo/Glimt in the League Phase of the Champions League, but they head into Saturday’s contest with five wins in their last six outings.
During this period, the Citizens have booked a League Cup final date with Arsenal, who are also the only team that sit above City in the Premier League standings.
With the unrelenting schedule, this FA Cup tie against Salford could have come at the perfect time, especially as Haaland was subbed at half-time in Wednesday’s win over Fulham due to fatigue.
Guardiola could view this as a great opportunity to rest some of his key players and give some minutes to the likes of Trafford, Rico Lewis and Ryan McAidoo.
But even an under-strength City will have too much quality for Salford, who have lost two of their last three games and will still be having nightmares from the 8-0 thumping on their last trip to the Etihad.