For Plymouth Argyle, Saturday is the chance to shoot their shot. Yes, the odds are long against their favor, but hey, step it up and just see what happens. Manchester City only have two things left to play for this season- the FA Cup and a top four finish. So Pep Guardiola won’t be easing off the gas pedal too much here.
So if they can pull off a major upset, it would be truly legit.
FA Cup 5th Round FYIs
Plymouth Argyle at Manchester City
Kickoff: Sat. March 1, 5:45pm, Etihad Stadium, Manchester, UK
Fun Fact: This is just the second ever FA Cup meeting between these two sides, with the first coming in 1987-88
Key Stat: In their last 18 FA Cup matches against lower division clubs, City have outscored their opponents on aggregate 69-9.
Man City Team News vs Plymouth Argyle
Nothing new going on here. Same old same old with Rodri, Oscar Bobb, John Stones and Manuel Akanji still out. While this is a cup elimination game, you’ll see some strength in the starting lineup. However, it won’t be anything close to full strength, given who the opponent is here. Plymouth are currently in position to be relegated from the Championship to League One.
Man City Starting XI Prediction
Stefan Ortega; Rico Lewis, Vitor Reis, Abdukodir Khusanov, Nico O’Reilly; Ilkay Gündoğan, James McAtee; Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish; Omar Marmoush.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.