Manchester City travel to face Bristol City tonight in the FA Cup with a quarter-final berth up for grabs.
Pep Guardiola’s side head to Ashton Gate back in the winning groove after thrashing Bournemouth 4-1 in the Premier League over the weekend, piling pressure back onto title rivals Arsenal and bouncing back from an iffy week in which they blew leads against both Nottingham Forest and in their Champions League last-16 first-leg tie against RB Leipzig.
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They will be huge favourites to see off Championship opposition in the West Country, though Bristol City are in decent form at the moment and may harbour hopes of a considerable upset on home soil.
Nigel Pearson’s mid-table Robins are unbeaten in nine games after a 1-0 win over Hull on Saturday, moving within nine points of the top six having still not lost a game in 2023. Their last defeat was on Boxing Day.
Manchester City are six-time winners of the FA Cup who last won it in 2019, beating Chelsea and Arsenal to get to the fifth round this term.
Bristol City’s only final appearance to date was way back in 1909 and they are bidding to reach the quarter-finals for the first time since 1974, having already seen off second-tier rivals West Brom and Swansea.
Date, kick-off time and venue
Bristol City vs Manchester City is scheduled for an 8pm GMT kick-off tonight, February 28, 2023.
The match will take place at Ashton Gate Stadium in Bristol.
Where to watch Bristol City vs Man City
TV channel: In the UK, the match will be televised live and free-to-air on ITV1, with coverage beginning at 7:30pm.
Live stream: Fans can also catch the game live online via the ITVX app or ITV website.
Live blog: You can follow all the action on matchday via Standard Sport’s live blog.
Bristol City vs Man City team news
Bristol City XI: O’Leary, Tanner, Vyner, Kalas, Pring, James, Williams, Scott, Sykes, Wells, Bell
Subs: Haikin, Dasilva, Wilson, King, Taylor-Clarke, Morrison, Weimann, Thomas, Francois
Man City XI: Ortega, Lewis, Akanji, Dias, Ake, Phillips, De Bruyne, Bernardo, Mahrez, Foden, Alvarez
Subs: Ederson, Walker, Gundogan, Haaland, Grealish, Rodri, Gomez, Perrone, Palmer
Bristol City vs Man City prediction
Cup ties against lower-league opposition have generally been a walk in the park for Manchester City over recent times, with a number of absolute maulings coming to mind.
However, this is likely to be an altogether tougher test with Bristol City on that long unbeaten streak and looking up in 2023 after a mixed season otherwise.
You’d back Pep’s men to get the job done here with room to spare, especially if he sticks to his pledge of playing a strong team amid their title push, but there are likely to be one or two hairy moments along the way.
Manchester City to win, 3-1.
Head to head (h2h) history and results
Bristol City actually edge the historical head to head, but have lost five of the last six meetings dating all the way back to 1979.
The two sides have met in the League Cup three times this century, with Manchester City winning 2-1 in 2007 and then triumphing in both legs of a semi-final back in 2018.
Bristol City wins: 10
Man City wins: 9
Draws: 6
Bristol City vs Man City match odds
Bristol City to progress: 7/1
Man City to progress: 1/14
Draw (90 mins): 11/2
