Manchester City host League Two side Salford City in the third round of the FA Cup and Pep Guardiola’s side look to continue their promising recent form and avoid a major upset.
The Premier League champions have started the new year strongly, claiming back-to-back victories after a poor run in which they won just one of 13 games in all competitions.
It will also give Guardiola a rare opportunity to shake up the relatively small squad he currently has at his disposal and give some younger members of his squad a chance.
Salford, meanwhile, sit third in English football’s fourth tier. And while the hosts will be firm favorites to advance, a club co-owned by members of Manchester United’s ‘Class of ’92’ making the short trip to the Etihad will bring an added level of flavor to the occasion.
Read on to see how both teams line up.
Manchester City Team News
Nathan Ake and Savinho are the only two players to retain their place in City’s squad following the Premier League win against West Ham, as Guardiola unsurprisingly makes nine changes.
Twenty-year-old Divin Mubama, who arrived in the summer from the Hammers, makes his senior debut, while Ederson, Jack Grealish and Ilkay Gundogan also start.
Your City XI in the #FACcup ✊
XI| Ederson, Simpson-Pusey, Ake, Nunes, Gundogan (C), O’Reilly, McAtee, Doku, Grealish, Savinho, Mubama
SUBS | Ortega Moreno, Kovacic, Haaland, De Bruyne, Bernardo, Gvardiol, Akanji, Foden, Lewis#ManCity | @etihad pic.twitter.com/l8OY9OSrUU
– Manchester City (@ManCity) January 11, 2025
Salford City Team News
League Two’s senior players make two changes for the short trip to the Etihad, with the entry of Matty Lund and Kylian Kouassi.
Boss Karl Robinson, assisted by former Manchester United player Ryan Giggs on the bench, names three under-18 players on the bench as Salford, despite their opponents’ recent poor run of results, look to cause what He would be one of the best of all time in the competition. major disappointments.
His @EmiratesFACup Ammies in Man City this afternoon 📋
♦️ 2 changes
♦️ Lund and Kouassi enter
♦️ 3 under-18s on the bench#MCISAL pic.twitter.com/M94TIgpi0j– Salford City FC (@SalfordCityFC) January 11, 2025
