The first trophy of the English domestic season is up for grabs and Manchester City will fancy their chances of acquiring some silverware as they welcome Championship high-flyers Bristol City to the Etihad. The Robins picked up a famous 2-1 home victory over Manchester United in the previous round of the Carabao Cup and they are two-legs away from a Wembley final.
Carabao Cup – Manchester City vs Bristol City (1st Leg) – Etihad Stadium – Tuesday 9th January 2018 – Kick-off: 19.45 GMT
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Draw Best Odd of: 7/1 at Coral |
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Manchester City
Bristol CityManchester City
Pep Guardiola’s men remain unbeaten domestically following a domestic period in which they only dropped 2 points. The Blues sit 15 points clear of the chasing pack in the Premier League and look unstoppable currently.
The Carabao Cup has been utilised by City to rotate their expensively assembled squad and Guardiola could once again give some minutes to some of his fringe players. Raheem Sterling is Manchester City’s top scorer this term with 18 goals to his name in all competitions, in his most prolific season as a City player so far.
Bristol City
Lee Johnson’s men have had a remarkable cup run this season, defeating Crystal Palace, Stoke City, Watford and Manchester United on their way to the semi-final stage. Their league form this season has been excellent too – the Robins currently reside in 4th place in the Championship table although two consecutive defeats (to promotion rivals Aston Villa and Wolves) won’t be ideal preparation for this one.
Bobby Reid has notched 12 goals in the Championship for Bristol City in what has been an incredible season so far.
Manchester City vs Bristol City – Head to Head
This promises to be a real David and Goliath tie, between two teams at the opposite end of the footballing spectrum in England. Manchester City have a superior 10:7 head to head record over the Robins whilst another 6 games between the teams have ended as draws.
The last meeting between the teams was back in August 2007, a League Cup tie that Manchester City won 2-1.
Manchester City vs Bristol City Odds and Predictions
Two-legged ties can invariably be cagey in the opening leg and Bristol City may look to sit back and stay in the tie for as long as possible.
Both teams to score – NO – looks a strong bet at 8/11 with Uni Bet.
Manchester City will look to take the game to Bristol City and get goals on the board quickly.
Over 2.5 goals in the game looks an excellent punt at 4/9 with Ladbrokes.
Sergio Aguero will be tasked with leading the line – with Gabriel Jesus out injured currently.
Sergio Aguero to score anytime looks a good bet at 11/18 with 888 Sport.
Bristol City could adopt a physical approach in order to compete – which could lead to a fiery encounter.
A red card in the match looks a real possibility at 3/1 with William Hill.
Score Prediction
Manchester City 3 – 0 Bristol City – 13/2 with Bet Victor.
Top Betting Tip Manchester City vs Bristol City:
Manchester City will want to kill the tie off as quickly as possible and could put Bristol City to the sword here. Manchester City to win the match with a -2.5 Asian Handicap looks a superb punt at 11/10 with Ladbrokes.