Preview: Manchester City vs Huddersfield Town –Prediction, Team News, Line-ups

Manchester City will begin their FA Cup title defence this Sunday as they square off with Huddersfield Town in the third round of the competition. 

The Citizens ran out 2-0 winners in their most recent fixture against Sheffield United, while their opponents this weekend lost 4-1 to Leicester City last time out in the Championship. 

Match Preview 

Manchester City eased past Sheffield United in the Premier League at the weekend. 

Rodri scored the opening goal in the 14th-minute before Julian Alvarez wrapped up the points for the home side with a 61st-minute strike. 

That was the Citizens’ fourth successive victory in all competitions. 

However, Pep Guardiola’s side are still five points behind Liverpool in the league table, albeit the Red have played a game more than their rivals.  

Man City completed a treble of trophies last season by winning the Champions League, Premier League and the FA Cup. 

Their performances haven’t been entirely convincing this season, but they are still in the race for winning all the above mentioned three trophies. 

The Citizens lifted their seventh FA Cup last year after beating Manchester United in the final. 

They will commence their cup defence by taking on Huddersfield Town this weekend. 

Darren Moore’s side have been enduring a miserable run of form at the moment. 

In their last eight Championship fixtures, they have won only once and are currently sitting 21st in the standings with 25 points from 26 matches. 

The Terriers’ latest defeat came at Leicester City who sealed an emphatic 4-1 success to consolidate their position at the summit. 

Tom Cannon struck a brace while Ricardo Domingos Barbosa Pereira and Stephy Mavididi also earned their names on the scoresheet to help the Foxes win their 21st Championship victory this season. 

Team News 

Manchester City have a few injury concerns this weekend. Their main striker Erling Haaland has still not fully recovered from his foot injury while John Stones and Jeremy Doku are also in the infirmary. 

Meanwhile, Huddersfield Town have a long list of absentees due to fitness issues, including Jonathan Hogg, Oliver Turton, Patrick Jones, Kian Harratt, Matty Pearson, Chris Maxwell, Josh Ruffels and Delano Burgzorg. They will also be missing Charles Ondo and Yuta Nakayama for the coming fixture due to their international commitments. 

Manchester City vs Huddersfield Town potential line-ups 

Manchester City: Ortega; Lewis, Dias, Akanji, Gomez; Nunes, Phillips; Bobb, Foden, Hamilton; Alvarez

Huddersfield Town: Nicholls; Lees, Ayina, Helik; Kasumu, Rudoni, Wiles, Diarra, Edmonds-Green; Thomas, Koroma

How to Watch? 

Fans can watch the FA Cup live matches, including the Manchester City vs Huddersfield Town fixture. 

Manchester City vs Huddersfield Town prediction 

Even without Erling Haaland, City still boast plenty of firepower and Huddersfield will likely struggle to prevent them from scoring. A respectable defeat is the best the Terriers can hope for given their miserable run of form recently. 

Manchester City 3-0 Huddersfield Town