Confirmed Line-Ups: Manchester City vs Exeter City (FA Cup Third Round) | OneFootball

Manchester City will seek their first win of 2026 when Exeter City visit the Etihad Stadium for the FA Cup third-round at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The Blues have succumbed to three successive draws to begin the calendar year, with doubts emerging over whether City can keep up with Premier League leaders Arsenal as they vie for a fifth Premier League title in six seasons.

Pep Guardiola has welcomed Antoine Semenyo to his ranks ahead of the FA Cup curtain-raiser, with the 26-year-old expected to make his Manchester City debut this weekend just days after netting an injury-time winner in his final appearance for Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.

City are struggling with injuries in defence and after recalling academy defender Max Alleyne from loan at Watford, the Blues have stepped up their pursuit of Crystal Palace and England defender Marc Guehi – with Josko Gvardiol out with a long-term injury and Ruben Dias set for at least another month on the sidelines with a hamstring issue.

Manchester City remain in the running for silverware on four fronts, with a Carabao Cup semi-final first leg trip to Newcastle on the horizon after this weekend’s commitments.

The Blues have welcomed Ballon d’Or winner Rodri back to action in recent weeks, with Oscar Bobb, Mateo Kovacic and John Stones unavailable and the pair of Rayan Ait-Nouri and Omar Marmoush still away at the Africa Cup of Nations.

City need to pick themselves up and put a run of wins together if they are to stake a claim for silverware at the end of the season, with Guardiola’s side casually dropping too many points of late.

Ahead of Saturday’s 15:00 UK kick-off between Manchester City and Exeter City in the FA Cup, here are the confirmed lineups from both camps.

Manchester City

Starting XI: Trafford, Lewis, Khusanov, Alleyne, Ake, Rodri, Reijnders, McAidoo, Cherki, Semenyo, Haaland

Substitutes: Donnarumma, Doku, Nico, Silva, Nunes, O’Reilly, Foden, Mukasa, Mfuni

Exeter City

Starting XI: Whitworth, Niskanen, Turns, Fitzwater, Woodhouse, Oakes, Doyle-Hayes, Brierley, Cole, Aitchison, Wareham

Substitutes: Bycroft, Dean, McMillan, Francis, Birch, Higgins, Cox, Mendes Gomes, Magennis.