Predicted Starting XI: Manchester City vs Plymouth Argyle (FA Cup fifth round) | OneFootball

Manchester City shift their focus over to the FA Cup this weekend, in a competition that represents their last chance of winning a major trophy this season.

Plymouth Argyle will visit the Etihad Stadium for the first time in their history on Saturday evening, and the first time they will travel away to Manchester City since the two clubs’ most-recent duel back in 1988 – a 2-0 win for the Blues in the second tier of English football.

Currently 22nd in the Championship, the Devonshire club have already eliminated Premier League competition in Brentford and Liverpool as they mount a historic run in the FA Cup so far this season.

In the last round, Manchester City had to turn things around after Leyton Orient had opened the scoring in relatively fortunate circumstances. Following Jamie Donley’s long-range effort, the ball hit Stefan Ortega Moreno in the back and fell into the German’s net.

Super subs in Abdukodir Khusanov and Kevin De Bruyne then came in during the second half, scored and rescued silverware hopes for Manchester City in the world’s oldest football competition; a 1-2 away win to progress into the fifth round this weekend.

After being out with Argentina’s Under-20 side, Claudio Echeverri has finally arrived at the Etihad Stadium, had his first training session under Pep Guardiola, and could be available for the upcoming match – although unlikely at this stage to feature.

As for fitness updates, John Stones, Manuel Akanji and Rodri remain sidelined with longer-term injuries, whereas Oscar Bobb is back to training as normal with “light at the end of the tunnel”, according to Pep Guardiola in his pre-match press conference.

Considering this is a unique possibility for young players who are not performing as much as they should, let’s see how the Manchester City team might be put together by Pep Guardiola this time around.

Predicted XI

Stefan Ortega Moreno remains Manchester City’s goalkeeper for cup competitions, meaning he should start ahead of Ederson and have an opportunity to shine after an unlucky display against Leyton Orient in the last round.

Academy graduate Rico Lewis has been recently praised by Pep Guardiola and could attack the spaces left by the opposition’s defence when in possession, replacing Matheus Nunes in the right-back role.

This is arguably the perfect opportunity for Vitor Reis to make his Etihad Stadium debut and get valuable minutes for his development, especially after Pep Guardiola’s words to the media praising the Brazilian on Friday afternoon.

In order to boost communication on the pitch and adjust the Brazilian youth international if needed, we predict that natural leader Rúben Dias will form a Portuguese-speaking partnership at the back against Argyle.

Another youngster that might get a golden chance this time out is Nico O’Reilly, who has already played as a left-back for the club this season, showing his ability to join the midfield when in possession – his natural role – and help the team build-up.

Nico González arrived only last month and is already proving to be pivotal in holding midfield. The “mini-Rodri”, as described by Pep Guardiola, makes the game more fluid for the Cityzens and therefore is the simplest of choices in a squad prediction.

The experience of Kevin De Bruyne is required in such a match, even though the Belgian is not living his best moment physically. He could pass his knowledge to other players on the pitch, as well as get a solid performance in the hope of getting a new contract.

James McAtee needs to play more minutes for Manchester City, and that certainly goes without saying. Against a second tier club, he could make an impression and prove, once and for all, that he has the level to become a regular starter.

Brazil international Savinho has arguably been one of Manchester City’s best players this season, making him an easy feature in the right-wing role against Plymouth Argyle this weekend.

After being left out of recent matches with discomfort to his right knee and coming back against Spurs in midweek, Erling Haaland’s fitness “is good”, Pep Guardiola confirmed. As such, the Norwegian deserves to lead the club’s attack in order to keep his goalscoring form.

On the left, Jack Grealish – who is a candidate for player of the competition so far with one goal and three assists to his name – will be given a shot at putting together another good display, which could be the start of his turnaround for the remainder of the 2024/25 campaign.

With this tactical set-up, Manchester City would use the famous inverted pyramid formation, a 2-3-5 on the ball, while defending in a classic 4-4-2, as we have seen frequently.

Starting XI: Ortega Moreno; Lewis, Reis, Dias, O’Reilly; Nico, De Bruyne, McAtee; Savinho, Haaland, Grealish.

Substitutes: Ederson, Nunes, Khusanov, Bernardo, Gundogan, Kovacic, Foden, Doku, Marmoush.