Manchester City vs Birmingham City - No Point in Pruning the Pace for Pep

On Sunday Manchester City host Birmingham City at the Etihad Stadium in the third round of the FA Cup.

Manchester City

The Sky Blues have found their rhythm again after a slow start to the season.
Looking at the 4 most recent league games, Manchester City have the best shots on target difference in the Premier League right now. Add to that impressive EFL Cup victories on the road against Arsenal and Manchester United. I think preserving this rise in form will be an important factor for Pep Guardiola come Sunday.

The remaining fixtures in January for Manchester City are league games against Brighton & Hove Albion, Crystal Palace, Aston Villa, West Bromwich Albion and Sheffield United (4 of 5 games at the Etihad Stadium!). So there's no urgent reason to rest first team players in this particular game. There will be some rotation for sure, but Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus are back from injury with cravings for games and goals.

Manchester City have, by some margin, the best shots on target ratio in the Premier League so far this season.

Birmingham City

The Blues are on a terrible run of form, picking up 1 point in the last 5 games.
Looking at the 4 most recent league games, Birmingham City have the worst shots on target difference in the Championship right now. In those very games, the West Midlands club have only managed to score once, losing by an average margin of 2.25 goals per game.

Birmingham City have tough league games against top half teams Middlesbrough and Preston North End in the upcoming week.

Only rock bottom Wycombe have a worse shots on target ratio than Birmingham City in the Championship so far this season.

Check out more FA Cup odds here!

Prediction & Betting Tips

Manchester City have the best shots on target difference in the Premier League right now and Manchester City also display the best shots on target ratio in the Premier League so far this season.
Birmingham City have the worst shots on target difference in the Championship right now and only one team have a worse shots on target ratio than Birmingham City in the Championship so far this season.
With a relatively easy fixture list in January for the North West England outfit I think we will see quite a winning margin for the home team here.
My Betting Tip is: Manchester City -2.5.
Stake at 5/10 units.

Learn more about what a unit is.

Check out more odds on Manchester City - Birmingham City here!