Manchester City VS Burton Albion Match Prediction
2019-01-09
19:45:00
Manchester City
VS
Burton Albion
Our Prediction Tip
Manchester City will win this match.
2019-01-0919:45:00 Manchester City will win this match.
These will be the first ever competitive meetings between Manchester City and Burton Albion since the Brewers were founded in 1950.
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Anything can happen in a cup tie – as Burton have proved by shocking Aston Villa, Burnley, Nottingham Forest and Middlesbrough to reach these semi-finals.
Manchester City are next up – one of Nigel Clough’s former teams as a player – but Pep Guardiola’s side have already proved this week they know how to avoid a cup upset in style.
City were ruthless against Rotherham, beating the Millers 7-0 in the FA Cup and missing several chances that could have contributed to an even bigger scoreline.
Phil Foden got his first home goal in that match, while Gabriel Jesus and Riyad Mahrez got back on the scoresheet having struggled in recent games.
Kevin de Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan ran the show in midfield for City and it remains to be seen if both feature again against Burton, but if they miss out it will only be players like Bernardo Silva – one of the star men in the win against Liverpool – who replace them.
Such strength in depth was proved against Rotherham when, after Raheem Sterling had repeatedly beaten the Millers’ full-backs, he was handed a deserved rest and Leroy Sane – the match winner against Liverpool – was brought on in his place.
City have five days until their next match too – a televised tie against Wolves – and therefore there is no pressure to rest their star names, particularly those such as Sergio Aguero and David Silva, who did not play against Rotherham.
At the very least they will be lying in wait on the subs bench, which is strength in depth Burton can only dream of – not least with their current injury worries.
Liam Boyce has returned and the top scorer could start, while John Brayford is set to come back too but City nullified Rotherham’s threat and can do the same to Burton.
Burton have proved they should not be written off, but anything less than a City win in both legs of this tie would come as a huge surprise.
Manchester City are huge favourites to win this tie, with Betfair pricing a Burton win as high as 55/1. Even a draw is 18/1 with Bet365. City to win will return 1/18 with Ladbrokes.
After their dominant win against Rotherham United, City to win to nil could be a good bet at 4/9 with Ladbrokes, however.
Meanwhile, Manchester City to win and over 4.5 goals returns 6/4 with Ladbrokes, Betfair and Betway.
A dominant City win would set them up well to rotate their players in the second leg, if they wanted to, and so a big home performance is surely on the cards. Betfair are offering 6/4 on City to win by four or more goals.
Gabriel Jesus got back to goalscoring ways against Rotherham at the weekend, meanwhile. If he leads the line again, he is a best price of 11/20 with 888sport to score at any time.
Manchester City are huge favourites to beat Burton Albion but rightly so. After they ruthlessly thrashed Rotherham in the FA Cup at the weekend, they can put themselves firmly in the driving seat with a similar result in this Carabao Cup semi-final first leg.
Pep Guardiola rotated his squad for the match against Rotherham at the weekend, but still included plenty of attacking talent as City stormed to a 7-0 win. The likes of Gabriel Jesus and Riyad Mahrez could start again as they look to find form, while Fabian Delph – back after his ban – could also slot in. Aro Muric has played all of this year’s Carabao Cup games in goal and should return after Ederson started the FA Cup game.
Phil Foden – Scored his first home goal for City at the weekend – albeit a little fortunately – and has already scored in this competition this season too.
Gabriel Jesus – Missed a number of opportunities against Rotherham but got his goal eventually and will want more if handed another chance against Burton.
Leroy Sane – Only played as a substitute in the FA Cup win but still found time to score the seventh goal – his pace and direct running should prove too much for Burton’s full-backs.
City lost two league matches either side of Christmas following their penalty shoot-out win in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals but – after losses to Crystal Palace and Leicester City – they have bounced back with three wins. David Silva, an own goal and Sergio Aguero’s strike earned a 3-1 win at Southampton before Aguero and Leroy Sane scored in a 2-1 victory at home to title rivals Liverpool. Last time out, against Rotherham, Raheem Sterling, Phil Foden, an own goal, Gabriel Jesus, Nicolas Otamendi and Sane again saw City thrash the Millers 7-0 in the FA Cup third round.
Despite a lengthy injury list, Burton Albion thrashed Rochdale 4-0 at the weekend, though Stephen Quinn’s hopes of playing against Manchester City look extremely slim now after he lasted just 13 minutes – having already been an injury doubt. John Brayford is set to be available after being rested for that match, but Marvin Sordell is set to miss out and Kyle McFadzean is only likely to be on the bench after abdominal troubles. Liam Boyce is fit again, however, stepping off the bench to score at Rochdale.
Liam Boyce – Returned from injury to step off the bench and score his ninth goal of the season against Rochdale – he also has five assists.
Marcus Harness – Has surely earned his place in the side to face Manchester City after his hat-trick against Rochdale.
Jake Buxton – The thankless task of leading Burton’s defence against the star-studded City attack falls to the experienced ex-Derby centre-back, a long-time favourite of Nigel Clough’s.
Any suggestion the forthcoming tie with City could have proved a distraction has been displaced with two wins and two draws since Christmas. Lucas Akins scored twice either side of David Templeton’s goals in a 3-1 comeback win against Wycombe Wanderers on Boxing Day, before back-to-back draws with Plymouth Argyle and Bristol Rovers. Last time out, Marcus Harness scored a hat-trick and Liam Boyce stepped off the bench to score in a 4-0 win at Rochdale.
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