Man City v Plymouth: FA Cup predictions, tips and best bets as Citizens look to avoid Argyle curse

On paper, Pep Guardiola’s men should score four or five goals, shake hands, take some pictures and advance to the quarter-finals without any dramas.

However, with the way things have gone for the Citizens this season, it wouldn’t surprise us if things go in a completely different direction. 

Guardiola’s once indomitable team are in a big old slump at the moment, losing four of their last seven matches and conceding 14 goals in that time.

Plymouth, of course, would need a miracle to beat a team that has won four Premier League titles in a row and has a market value of £1.3billion. Then again, that’s what we said when they played Liverpool… and we know how that ended.

Two miracles in a row would certainly make me question reality. Little old Plymouth… beating Liverpool and Man City in successive rounds? Andrew Tate was right, the matrix is real.

Good luck and please gamble responsibly.

(All odds are correct at the time of article publication)

 

Man City v Plymouth bet builder

Man City -2 handicap – 13/20

Jack Grealish to score anytime – 6/4

Over 3.5 goals – 4/6

Over 22.5 bookings points – 21/20

 

Man City -2 handicap

Yes, Plymouth got the better of Liverpool in the previous round, but you have to think about the context. The Reds have bigger fish to fry and they weren’t exactly fussed by the FA Cup this season.

Man City, on the other hand, will be looking at the FA Cup as their last potential source of silverware this season.

When you couple that motivation with the enormous gulf in quality between both teams, it’s hard to envisage anything other than a dominant City victory.

Guardiola’s men come into this game on the back of a 1-0 win over Tottenham. While beating Spurs is no great achievement nowadays, it does mean City are back on winning tracks. That can only spell bad news for Plymouth who should brace for impact.

 

Jack Grealish to score anytime

Some people say that cryptocurrency scams are the biggest acts of fraud in modern times. If you ask us, it’s Aston Villa getting £100m for Jack Grealish.

Don’t get me wrong, the England man had some moments of brilliance during his Man City run. But has Grealish lived up to his price tag? Probably no.

In recent months, the 29-year-old has been demoted to a bench-warmer who rarely comes on and only really features in cup games.

With that in mind, we’re backing Grealish to get some minutes against Plymouth. Not only that – we expect him to score.

The midfielder has got four goal contributions in his previous two FA Cup outings for Man City. What’s more, those were the only two games which saw him play for the full 90 minutes since December.

 

Over 3.5 goals

City are struggling for results, but they are still capable of scoring goals. Recent weeks have seen them score four past Newcastle, three past Real Madrid, three past Chelsea, six past Ipswich and eight past Salford.

With the Citizens expected to take their FA Cup run seriously, expect another killer performance up front.

 

Over 22.5 booking points

Over 22.5 booking points means we only need three yellow cards to cross the threshold. 

Considering Plymouth will spend most of the game on the back foot, there’s plenty of booking potential.

 

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