Manchester City vs Bristol City: Team News, Possible Lineups, Preview, Prediction

Just three days after a great FA Cup win over Burnley, Manchester City are back in action with the first leg of their League Cup semifinal against Bristol City at the Etihad. The Blues enter this one as massive favorites for obvious reasons, but anyone expecting an easy night for the Premier League leaders will be disappointed.

Bristol have had a fantastic run to the semi-final, knocking out multiple Premier League teams on the way including a historic late win against Manchester United last month. The Robins are well organized and are scoring goals for fun this season in the Championship, and they’ll come to the Etihad free of any pressure and just looking to upset the virtual champions of England.

Manchester City will need to be at the very top of their game to achieve victory in this one, and if they can get a big win at home it would be a major step towards the first final of what could be a historic season for the Blues.

MATCH INFO, TV/STREAMING

Competition/Round: THE NOT CARABAO CUP Semi-final, 1st Leg

Date/Time: Tuesday, January 9, 2018, 7:45pm GMT (UK), 8:45pm WAT (Nigeria), 2:45pm ET, 11:45am PT (USA), 1:15am IST (India, next day)

Venue: Etihad Stadium, Manchester, England

Television: Sky Sports Main Event (UK), Not Televised (USA, Canada, Nigeria)

Online streaming: Sky GO (UK), WatchESPN (USA), DAZN (Canada), Kwesé Sports 1 (Nigeria)

(Listings via LiveSoccerTV)

TEAM NEWS

Pep Guardiola is still dealing with a few injury problems and we don’t know the status of David Silva as he’s still traveling back and forth from Spain, so it’s really hard to figure out which team the manager will pick. It’ll probably be a very strong side, though, as Pep probably wants to take a big step towards the final with a big win so he can play a lot of reserves and youngsters in the second leg.

Fabian Delph could finally return from injury, and Kyle Walker is also expected to start at full-back. Sergio Agüero should be fine to play in this one, though Bernardo Silva could start in his place up front as a false nine if Pep decides to go that route.

POSSIBLE LINEUPS

Manchester City (4-3-3)

Bravo; Walker, Stones, Otamendi, Delph; De Bruyne, Fernandinho, Gundogan; Sterling, Agüero, Sané

Bristol City (4-4-1-1)

Steele; Wright, Flint, Baker, Magnusson; Brownhill, Smith, Pack, Bryan; Paterson; Reid

PREDICTION

Bristol beat United for a reason and they’ll make this really tough: 2-1 City, and everything to play for in the second leg.