Wigan Athletic v Manchester City
English FA Cup Fifth Round
Currently enjoying a 16-point lead at the top of the Premier League, Manchester City are taking an extended break from that competition, the fixture list taking them into three huge knockout ties over the next few days. The period began with a comfortable 4-0 away win against Champions League opponents FC Basel and continues on Monday with an FA Cup clash with Wigan Athletic, a rematch of the 2013 final.
The hosts here, who sit second in League One, face an even stiffer challenge than they did five years ago when Ben Watson's brilliant header eventually led to the sacking of then City boss Roberto Mancini. Paul Cook has Wigan playing a 4-2-3-1 formation, and while they have lost in each of their last two outings – against Southend and Blackpool – those defeats come after a 16 game unbeaten run that stretched all the way back to mid-November.
They look sharp in attack as their tally of 56 goals in 2017/18 ranks second in their division and their record of just 18 goals conceded in 30 fixtures is the best defence by some distance. Yet both those figures pale in comparison to City’s incredible form this term, Pep Guardiola’s men netting 79 goals in just 27 rounds of Premier League action while letting in just 20 at the other end, losing just two competitive games all season.
The Catalan coach’s 4-3-3 formation and possession-based style has proven to be perfect for this squad, City dominating in almost every statistical category. Indeed, their marks for ball retention (66.5%), passes per game (727.2) and shots (18 per 90 minutes) rank as the best tallies in English football by a wide margin.
Long-term injuries mean that Benjamin Mendy and Gabriel Jesus looked set to be the only players ruled out for Manchester City on Monday night, but Yaya Toure has emerged as a doubt because of illness. Yet despite having almost a full squad at his disposal, Guardiola is widely expected to shuffle his pack and rotate his starting XI heavily for the trip to DW Stadium, meaning the likes of Aymeric Laporte, Claudio Bravo and Oleksandr Zinchenko should all be in line for a place in the side.
Youngsters Phil Foden and Brahim Diaz will also hope to feature against the third tier opponents, who have their own injury problems to contend with. Welsh midfielder Shaun MacDonald suffered a double leg-break back in April and remains sidelined, with compatriot Craig Morgan joining him on the sidelines.
City have won their last three away matches against Wigan in all competitions and kept a clean sheet on each occasion, a streak they will surely hope to continue here to ensure they can then begin to focus on the Carabao Cup final against Arsenal this coming Sunday.
Wigan Athletic (4-2-3-1): Walton; Byrne, Dunkley, Burn, Elder; Power, Morsy; Jacobs, Powell, Massey; Grigg
Manchester City (4-3-3): Bravo; Danilo, Stones, Laporte, Zinchenko; Gundogan, Fernandinho, David Silva; Bernardo Silva, Aguero, Sane
