FA Cup: David Meets Goliath at County Ground

Swindon Town vs Manchester City

Saying that Swindon Town are about to face a daunting task in the third round of the FA Cup is quite an understatement.

The Robins may have beaten Walsall and Crewe Alexandra in the previous rounds and they’ve improved their form recently, but it seems that bowing out of the competition is inevitable given that their next opponent are the defending Premier League champions in Manchester City.

The Sky Blues are banging in form as they’re riding on a six-game winning streak in all competitions, and they’re one of the biggest favourites to win in this tournament.

The FA Cup 2022 odds tip for an easy victory for Pep Guardiola’s side. However, Ben Garner and his crew will try to make this game as competitive as possible, while leaning on to the support from their home crowd.

Read on below as SBOTOP examines both sides ahead of this weekend through today’s match preview.

Talking Points

Huge learning experience for Swindon Town

Swindon Town are more than happy to reach this far. And while a defeat is inevitable, Ben Garner will make sure that his young turks will get to add experience that should help them in the long run.

The Robins currently sit at the fifth spot in League Two and they aren’t expected to get promoted to the upper tier after this season. However, they head into this game with some confidence following their 5-2 triumph over Northampton on New Year’s Day.

Ben Garner implements a 3-1-4-2 formation where most of their chances are created by their strike partnership up front in Harry McKirdy and Tyreece Simpson.

McKirdy and Simpson are the team’s leading scorers as they’ve accounted for 19 goals and seven assists. They both have young legs so they can wreak havoc through their searing pace and improving ballhandling ability.

Another player to watch out for is Jack Payne, who serves as one of their key veterans. The attacking midfielder is the club’s third leading scorer with eight goals and two assists.

After this game against City, the Robins don’t have the luxury of rest as they’ll take on Mansfield Town and Port Vale in the next seven days.

Manchester City keep on rolling

Manchester City hit the ground running for 2022 as they defeated Arsenal 2-1, albeit in controversial fashion.

Arsenal took the lead via a first-half goal from Bukayo Saka. However, Riyad Mahrez scored the controversial equaliser when Granit Xhaka fouled Bernardo Silva inside the box.

Gabriel was later on sent off and Arsenal almost came away with a point, but Rodri was at the right place and at the right time to score the game-winning goal.

City were without Jack Grealish and Phil Foden as both were omitted in the lineup because of their trip to a nightclub to which Pep Guardiola didn’t approve of.

Even with a slightly undermanned group, City still couldn’t stop winning and such trend should continue – which is a testament to Pep Guardiola’s managerial masterclass.

History

This Friday marks the first time since 2002 that Swindon Town and Manchester City will face off in any competition. Their previous meeting was also in the third round of the FA Cup during the said year, where the Sky Blues won 2-0 thanks to goals from Paulo Wanchope and Kevin Horlock.

Manchester City have won 10 of their last 11 encounters against Swindon in all competitions (L1), with the games coming from 1988 to 2002.

The Sky Blues have feasted on lower tier sides as they’ve progressed from their seven FA Cup ties against such level of competition. Their last upset loss happened way back in 1984 against Blackpool.

On the other hand, Swindon Town are looking to reach the fourth round of the FA Cup for the first time since the 2012 season where they defeated then-Premier League side Wigan Athletic with a 2-1 scoreline.

Betting Tip

	Swindon Town vs Manchester City	Manchester City Asian Handicap -2.75 @ 1.86
	January 8, 04:00 (GMT+8)

Manchester City are the much better team on paper compared to Swindon Town and this game is theirs to lose.

Given the way that the Sky Blues and the Robins have been scoring lately, we’re confident that this will be a goal-laden affair, with the visitors expected to create more FA Cup 2022 highlights.

Pep Guardiola is likely to rotate his side given their congested schedule similar to Swindon Town. But regardless of who he puts out there, the Sky Blues should have no problems in scoring a healthy amount of goals en route to the victory.

 

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