Manchester City – Huddersfield Town
The Premier League finally has a break this weekend after a busy Christmas and New Year’s Eve. But for many teams, the 3rd round of the FA Cup is on the agenda and teams from various English divisions will be battling it out. Among others, Manchester City will face English second division side Huddersfield Town on Sunday afternoon. Find out who will prevail in this duel in our Man City – Huddersfield betting tip.
Man City won twice between Christmas and New Year and were thus able to improve their position in the table. The battle for the championship is wide open again and anything less than a win in the upcoming FA Cup match would be a bitter disappointment.
Huddersfield, on the other hand, go into this game on the back of two recent defeats. Things are not going particularly well in the league, as the team is in the relegation battle for League Three. A win for the underdogs against City would be a huge surprise. But everyone knows that the cup has its own laws in England too
Man City – Huddersfield Info
- Date & Time: 07.01.2024, 15:00 hrs.
- Location: Etihad Stadium, Manchester
- Competition: FA Cup, 3rd round
- TV broadcast: DAZN
Man City Form & Balance Check
The Skyblues are in the thick of the championship action again this year. Coach Pep Guardiola’s team are currently in 3rd place in the Premier League, five points behind Liverpool FC at the top of the table. They have recently won four games in a row, including the FIFA Club World Cup just before Christmas.
This means that the Citizens are currently doing well in all competitions, as the team also played an excellent group stage in the Champions League with a perfect points haul. FC Copenhagen were drawn as their opponents in the last eight, a more than feasible task for the star ensemble from Manchester. Now it’s time to avoid stumbling against a second-tier opponent in the FA Cup in order to reach the next round in this competition
Philips on the move
Midfielder Kalvin Philip is not happy at Man City. He has played just 89 minutes in the Premier League this season without making a single appearance in the starting eleven. Across all competitions, he has only played ten games for the Citizens this season. The 28-year-old now wants to leave the club in January.
There are plenty of interested parties, with league rivals Newcastle United and Bundesliga clubs Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich also in the running. A loan to Juventus Turin is also conceivable. The Skyblues have already indicated that they do not want to put any obstacles in the way of the international. It therefore seems only a matter of time before Philips packs his bags in Manchester
Man City facts & analysis
- In third place in the Premier League
- Won last four games
- Unbeaten in seven games
Huddersfield form & record check
Huddersfield are not having a good season in the English Championship. After 26 games, coach Darren Moore’s team are only 21st in the table, one place above the relegation places. Although they are still three points clear of the relegation zone, Huddersfield have lost three of their last four games. Now they face Man City, probably their toughest opponents this season. However, the team has nothing to lose given their starting position
Helik in scoring mood
Huddersfield defender Michal Helik is currently in a scoring mood. The Pole has scored in the last two league games, marking his sixth and seventh goals of the season. This makes him Huddersfield’s top scorer and he has scored over a quarter of all his team’s goals.
Just how important he is to the team is also shown by the fact that he has started every game in which he has been available this season. It remains to be seen whether he will manage to score against the overpowering Citizens. It will be more important that he concentrates primarily on his actual duty of defending
Huddersfield facts & analysis
- In 21st place in the league
- Two defeats recently
- Goal ratio of 26:44
Predicted line-up – last update on January 5, 2024
Despite the apparent superiority, we expect Guardiola to take the opponent seriously and start with a strong line-up. However, there could be a few changes to the starting line-up compared to the last game against Sheffield Wednesday. We expect Matheus Nunes and Oscar Bobb in the first eleven. Kevin De Bruyne is also back in the squad after a long absence and could make his comeback.
We expect Huddersfield to play in a 3-5-2 system, forming a back five at the back. Should Coach Moore want to make a change in central midfield compared to the game against Leicester, Jonathan Hogg would still be available as an option
Man City – Huddersfield head-to-head & stats
The duel between the two clubs has already taken place 58 times. The historical direct comparison is balanced, with 17 wins for both teams. 24 encounters ended in a draw. In recent history, however, Man City have prevailed more often, with four of the last five matches going to the Citizens. The last meeting was a 3-0 away win for the Sky Blues in 2019, when Huddersfield were still playing in the Premier League.
- Even overall balance
- Huddersfield’s last win dates back to 1999
- The first meeting took place in 1920 and went 1-0 to Man City
