Football betting tips: FA Cup
2pts Man City to win both halves at 4/5 (William Hill)
1.5pts Jack Grealish 1+ assists at 9/4 (William Hill)
1pt Grealish 2+ assists at 14/1 (BoyleSports)
BuildABet @ 14/1
- Goal in both halves
- Phil Foden to score anytime
- Jack Grealish 2+ assists
- Kevin De Bruyne 1+ assists
Pep Guardiola offered us a glimpse into Manchester City's potentially bright future in midweek.
For the first time, he threw his full weight behind a reshaped team, with only teenage January signing Vitor Reis absent from a significantly more youthful XI containing just two players over the age of 27 - Mateo Kovacic and Ederson at an ancient 30 and 31 respectively - with an average age of 24.
Relegated to the dugout were Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan, Bernardo Silva, Jack Grealish and Nathan Ake, joined on a phenomenally strong bench by early 20s trio Phil Foden, Rico Lewis and James McAtee.
Their encouraging display in winning 1-0 at Tottenham, in particular the energetic nature of it, should finally have given City fans reasons for optimism as only the profligacy of Erling Haaland and Savinho prevented them from racing into a significant early lead.
It should also have given Plymouth plenty to worry about ahead of Saturday evening - if they weren't worried enough already.
What are the best bets?
The depth of City's bench against Spurs and the fact they are no longer in the Champions League, they have seven days' rest until they travel to Nottingham Forest for a crucial Premier League fixture, means the team Guardiola selects will be strong.
Even in seasons gone by, with the club usually fighting on multiple fronts at this stage of the season, City have had no problem swatting aside EFL opponents who have visited the Etihad Stadium in the FA Cup.
Since Guardiola took charge in 2016, nine clubs have gone to Eastlands in search of an upset, seven of those in the Championship as Argyle are.
The aggregate stands at 46-3. If we average that out to a per-game scoreline, it is 5-0.
Only once have they failed to score at least four goals.
- 5-1 v Huddersfield
- 7-0 v Rotherham
- 4-1 v Port Vale
- 4-0 v Fulham
- 3-0 v Birmingham
- 4-1 v Fulham
- 6-0 v Burnley
- 5-0 v Hudds
- 8-0 v Salford
It's therefore no surprise that a Plymouth team, though much improved under Miron Muslic, who currently sit in the second-tier relegation zone can be backed at 35/1 to win in 90 minutes, with City as short as 1/22.
Having scoured anything related to the 1X2 or handicap markets, there seems to be no way to get the hosts onside to any kind of value.
MANCHESTER CITY TO WIN BOTH HALVES can be backed at 4/5, and looks to be the standout opportunity.
Jack of all cups
JACK GREALISH is enduring a campaign to forget, rarely featuring in the Premier League and Champions League, and rarely having an impact when he does.
But in the domestic cups his output has been excellent.
Grealish has registered just five ASSISTS for City all season, four of which have come in his three appearances in the Carabao Cup and FA Cup against EFL opponents Watford, Salford and Leyton Orient.
- CLICK HERE to back Jack Grealish 1+ assists with Sky Bet
- CLICK HERE to back Jack Grealish 2+ assists with Sky Bet
With plenty of City goals expected, it's worth backing the England winger at 9/4 to provide 1+ ASSISTS and an eye-watering 14/1 for 2+.
Team news
Manchester City trio Rodri, Manuel Akanji and John Stones all remain out.
Kevin De Bruyne is likely to return after dropping to the bench against Tottenham. Phil Foden, Stefan Ortega, Rico Lewis, Vitor Reis, Nathan Ake, James McAtee and Jack Grealish are the others who will hope to be included in the XI.
Plymouth are without several key first-team players, with Joe Edwards, Muhamed Tijani, Ryan Hardie and Brendan Galloway all missing.
Predicted line-ups
Man City: Ortega; Lewis, Reis, Ake, O'Reilly; Gundogan, De Bruyne; Doku, Foden, Grealish; Marmoush.
Plymouth: Hazard; Talovierov, Katic, Pleguezuelo; Sorinola, Randell, Gyabi, Puchacz; Wright, Al Hajj; Bundu.
Odds correct at 2100 GMT (27/2/25)
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