Manchester City vs Plymouth Argyle: FA Cup Fifth-Round Lineups Confirmed
Manchester City and Plymouth Argyle have officially announced their starting lineups for today’s FA Cup fifth-round clash at the Etihad Stadium. While City comfortably dispatched Salford City and Leyton Orient to reach this stage, Plymouth pulled off stunning upsets against Brentford and Liverpool, setting up an intriguing encounter.
Although Pep Guardiola’s side are overwhelming favorites, they’ll need to be at their best to prevent Plymouth from continuing their giant-killing run in this historic competition.
Team News: Key Absentees for City
City will be without Manuel Akanji, Rodri, and John Stones, all sidelined due to injury. Oscar Bobb has only recently returned to training and is unlikely to feature, while Jack Grealish—who was a doubt leading up to the match—has been deemed fit to start.
Guardiola has opted for wholesale changes, making 11 alterations from the side that edged Tottenham 1-0 on Wednesday night. Claudio Echeverri, Abdukodir Khusanov, and Oscar Bobb are absent from the matchday squad entirely.
Manchester City Starting XI
Starting lineup:
Stefan Ortega, Rico Lewis, Maximo Perrone, Nathan Aké, Jacob O’Reilly, Ilkay Gündogan, Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne (C), James McAtee, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish.
Substitutes:
Ederson, Rúben Dias, Omar Marmoush, Erling Haaland, Jérémy Doku, Nico, Joško Gvardiol, Savinho, Matheus Nunes.
With De Bruyne leading the team and Foden, Grealish, and McAtee providing attacking creativity, City will look to dominate from the outset. Meanwhile, Plymouth will hope to channel their underdog spirit once again.
