With the Premier League title seemingly out of sight, the Champions League no guarantee and Manchester City out of the EFL Cup, we're expecting Pep Guardiola to take this FA Cup tie very seriously despite the vast gap in quality between the two clubs. Salford arrive in great form and challenging for promotion from League Two but surely an upset is out of the question?
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Man City vs Salford prediction: Will both teams score on Saturday?
Key Stats
- Salford have found the back of the net in each of their last six matches.
- Man City have only managed to keep one clean sheet in their last seven attempts.
- We're expecting a few different scorers for the home side this weekend and Jeremy Doku already has two Premier League goals to his name this season.
Correct score prediction: Man City 5-1 Salford
Manchester City are back to winning ways and we expect them to make it three victories on the run this weekend. The hosts put four past West Ham in their last home game so there is no reason why they should score at least five against League Two Salford. Clean sheets have been hard to come back for the Premier League side and Salford arrive having scored in each of their last six matches.
Pre-game odds and win probability: The Citizens are the overwhelming favourite
- HOME: 1/16 (1.06) – 94.1%
- DRAW: 18/1 (19.00) – 5.3%
- AWAY: 50/1 (51.00) – 2%
*odds from Ladbrokes, subject to change
Man City are the expected winner of this game with a probability of 94.1% and we can only see this FA Cup tie ending in victory for Pep Guardiola's side.
You can find all our predictions for today's games on our football betting tips page.
Most recent H2Hs: Never met before
Salford make the short journey to the Etihad Stadium this weekend for what will be their first-ever encounter with neighbours Manchester City.
Man City preview: Back-to-back wins
Pep Guardiola's side looked a lot more like their old selves last time out at home against West Ham.
An own goal put the hosts in front after just 10 minutes and an effort from Erling Haaland made it 2-0 just before the break. The Norwegian goal-machine scored his second of the game in the 55th minute and shortly after that, Phil Foden got in on the action to make it 4-0. West Ham pulled a goal back to put a slight blemish on the final scoreline, not that any of the City fans will care as their team made it back-to-back victories in the Premier League.
Rodri, Oscar Bobb, Ruben Dias, Ederson Moraes and John Stones could all miss the Salford game due to injury.
Predicted lineup: Ortega (GK), Walker, Akanji, Gvardiol, Lewis, Nunes, Gundogan, McAtee, Doku, Haaland & Grealish
England Premier League 12/04/25
W
Crystal Palace
2
Man City
5
England Premier League 06/04/25
D
Man Utd
0
Man City
0
England Premier League 02/04/25
W
Leicester
0
Man City
2
England FA Cup 30/03/25
W
Bournemouth
1
Man City
2
England Premier League 15/03/25
D
Brighton
2
Man City
2
Salford preview: Six-game winning run
Salford City sit third in the League Two table after a run of six wins on the spin.
The latest victory arrived on the road against mid-table MK Dons where a solitary effort in the 34th minute from Hakeeb Adelakun proved enough to decide the destination of all three points.
We're expecting Salford to stick with the team that won last weekend after no new injuries were picked up.
Predicted lineup: Young (GK), Garbutt, Shephard, Tilt, Berkoe, Mnoga, Adelakun, Watson, Fornah, Ashley & Stockton
England League 2 11/04/25
W
Notts County
1
Salford City
3
England League 2 05/04/25
D
Gillingham
2
Salford City
2
England League 2 01/04/25
D
Barrow
1
Salford City
1
England League 2 29/03/25
W
Bromley
2
Salford City
3
England League 2 15/03/25
W
Grimsby
0
Salford City
1
Player to watch: Jack Grealish
Jack Grealish has fallen out of favour at Manchester City this season having only managed to start in six Premier League games so far.
The England international has started in the EFL Cup and the Champions League for Pep Guardiola's side but he is yet to open his account for the season.
A chance for Grealish to prove his worth
We're expecting the 29-year-old to start against Salford and put in the kind of display that will remind his manager of his worth to the team and perhaps earn him a starting role against Brentford on Tuesday night.