Manchester City vs Rotherham United, FA Cup Round 3: Team News, Preview and Prediction

Competition/Round: 2018/19 FA Cup – Round 3

Date/Time: Manchester City vs Rotherham United – Sunday, 6 January 2019, 14:00 (UK); 09:00 EST, 06:00 PST (USA)

Venue: Etihad Stadium, Manchester, England, United Kingdom

Match Officials:

Referee: David Coote

Assistants: Peter Kirkup, Simon Long

Fourth Official: Paul Marsden

VAR: Lee Mason, Derek Eaton

TV Info: N/A

Live Stream: ESPN+ (USA)

Radio: BBC Radio Manchester (UK)

Preview:

The FA Cup, England’s oldest and most prestigious competition, will enter its third round this weekend. Manchester City will host Rotherham United on Sunday.

Manchester City are riding high on confidence. Having advanced to the 2018/19 UEFA Champions League Round of 16 and the EFL “Carabao” Cup Semi-finals, the Blues will look to add to their impressive run in cup competitions this season. They recently defeated Liverpool, the current league leaders in the English Premier League, and will look to add to their winning streak this weekend. Given their recent victory over Liverpool, City manager will likely rest some of his players to reward them for their performance.

Meanwhile, Rotherham United have struggled this season. The Millers currently sit in 22 out of 24 in the Championship and are three points above the drop zone. After 26 Championship matches, the Millers have only won five of these games. Moreover, they have conceded 41 goals in 26 matches, roughly equating to 1.57 goals per game. Based on their current standing in the Championship, and having been eliminated by Everton in Round 2 of the EFL Cup, Rotherham manager Paul Warne may see the FA Cup as the only opportunity for his side to earn silverware this season.

Team News:

Manchester City’s Claudio Bravo and Benjamin Mendy are sidelined through injury. Fabian Delph, who earned a red card in the match against Leicester City, is suspended. It is also predicted Brahim Díaz, who is rumoured to sold to Real Madrid next week, will earn his final appearance for the Blues.

Rotherham United are without Darren Potter, Jamie Proctor and Kyle Vassell. Billy Jones and Richard Towell earned red cards in the match against Bristol City and are suspended for this FA Cup tie.

Possible Lineups:

Manchester City

Formation: 4-3-3

Muric; Danilo, Otamendi, Sandler, Zinchenko; De Bruyne, Gündoğan, Foden; Mahrez, Jesus, Diaz

Manager: Pep Guardiola

Rotherham United

Formation: 4-1-4-1

Rodak; Vyner, Ajayi, Robertson, Mattock; Vaulks; Taylor, Wiles, Palmer, Williams; Smith

Manager: Paul Warne

Prediction:

At first glance, this seems like a non-contest. Manchester City, the current champions of English, sit in second in the EPL table, four points behind current leaders Liverpool. Meanwhile, Rotherham sit 22 in the Championship, three points about the drop zone. The contrast between these two sides is vast.

On the other hand, the FA Cup has provided some magic over the years. For example, City’s bogey team Wigan Athletic defeated them in the FA Cup on three occasions over the past five seasons.

Despite this fact, it is predicted this will be a straight forward routine for the current champions of England. The Millers may put up a fight, but by fulltime the Blues will book their ticket to the FA Cup’s fourth round.

Manchester City 4-1 Rotherham United