Preview: Manchester City vs Plymouth Argyle – Prediction, Team News, Line-ups

Manchester City will face Plymouth Argyle in the fifth round of the FA Cup at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday evening.  

This will be the first time the two sides will meet each other in any competition since 1989. 

Match Preview 

Manchester City returned to winning ways at the expense of Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday following back-to-back defeats to Real Madrid and Liverpool. 

Erling Haaland made a huge impact on his return from injury as the Norwegian scored the decisive goal in the 12th minute. 

Spurs significantly improved after the break but the hosts held on to secure a narrow 1-0 victory. 

The result means City have climbed back into the top-four, albeit they are just a point ahead of Chelsea in fifth. 

On the other hand, Plymouth Argyle are battling relegation from the Championship this season. They are currently in 22nd place in the table with three points from safety. 

Despite their league struggles, the Pilgrims have had a fairytale run in the FA Cup. They knocked Brentford out of the domestic competition in the third round before shocking Liverpool with a 1-0 defeat earlier this month.  

Plymouth will now look to pull off another big upset at Manchester City, a team they have lost against in eight of their previous nine encounters. 

Team News

Manchester City will not have the services of Rodri, Manuel Akanji and John Stones as they are all sidelined with fitness issues. Oscar Boss is nearing a return to full fitness, but Saturday’s match will probably come too soon for him. 

As for Plymouth, Muhamed Tijani is expected to be out for a few weeks after sustaining a hamstring injury. Brendan Galloway and Joe Edwards are also confined to the infirmary. 

Manchester City vs Plymouth Argyle potential line-ups 

Manchester City: Ortega; Lewis, Reis, Ake, O’Reilly; Gundogan, De Bruyne; Doku, Foden, Grealish; Marmoush

Plymouth Argyle: Hazard; Talovierov, Katic, Pleguezuelo; Sorinola, Randell, Gyabi, Puchacz; Wright, Al Hajj; Bundu

How to Watch? 

Football fans can watch the FA Cup match between Manchester City and Plymouth Argyle through football streams. 

Manchester City vs Plymouth Argyle prediction 

Plymouth deserve a lot of credit for their excellent run in the FA Cup so far. But given City are their next opponents and the venue is the Etihad Stadium, another big upset is very unlikely to happen. We are backing Pep Guardiola’s side to seal an emphatic win this weekend. 

Manchester City 3-0 Plymouth Argyle