English FA CUP
2026-02-14 - Manchester City vs Salford City
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English FA Cup Fourth Round
Saturday 14th February 2025 - Kick Off 3pm
Manchester City
Pep Guardiola has stated his players are mentally and physically exhausted after coming through another extremely busy month, but they had to have been given a real shot of adrenaline when seeing Premier League title rivals Arsenal drop two points on Thursday. This FA Cup Fourth Round draw is also a kind one for Manchester City who can rotate the squad and have several days away from competitive action for key contributors.
The FA Cup may not be prioritised to the same level as the Premier League or Champions League, but the Manchester City squad depth has allowed them to have considerable success in the competition. Winning the trophy is how Guardiola will judge success or failure, but his Manchester City team have reached the Semi Final or better in each of the last seven years and they are aiming for a fourth straight Final, even if Manchester City have come up short in the last two.
Manchester City were comfortable winners against Fulham this past Wednesday and they have won 5 of the last 6 games in all competitions with the exception being a draw at Tottenham Hotspur in a fixture they had led 0-2. After a couple of setbacks at the Etihad Stadium in early January, Manchester City look to have turned a corner having produced 5 straight wins here in all competitions.
Erling Haaland was unlikely to be risked in this Cup tie anyway, but the manager has suggested he has a slight injury issue and so is not expected to take part. Pep Guardiola has also made it clear that he will rotate his squad, while he remains unsure if John Stones will be ready to put any minutes on the field even after returning this past week.
Salford City
Four promotions were secured early in the 'Class of 92' ownership, but Salford City have seen clubs like Wrexham not only take away some of the media attention, but surpass them on the field. It has long been stated that Salford City have one of the stronger financial support in League Two, but the club have not been able to take the next step and that has seen them roll through a huge number of managers.
It is Karl Robinson who is being tasked with the latest bid for promotion and he has guided Salford City into the Play Off spots, although with plenty of football yet to play. The Ammies had finished just outside those Play Off spots last season, but the board have retained some faith in the current manager who is looking for a much more competitive fixture at the Etihad Stadium this season compared with the thumping loss taken in January 2025.
Salford City beat Swindon Town 3-2 at home in the FA Cup Third Round, but have won 2 and lost 2 of the next 4 games played to slow some of the momentum. They had won 4 away games in a row, but that run was ended in Salford City's 1-0 loss at Accrington Stanley.
Head to Head
Manchester City crushed Salford City 8-0 at home last season in the FA Cup Third Round.
Prediction
The 2025 FA Cup Third Round win over Salford City will be remembered by both teams, but Manchester City's 10-1 win over Exeter City in the last Round will mean the League Two team arrive with some trepidation.
The reality is that the League is the priority for both clubs, but Manchester City clearly have the significant advantage in depth of talent they can call upon.
Pep Guardiola will make wholesale changes, which makes the big Asian line harder to call, and he has admitted he wants his players to have a chance to refresh.
However, that offers players like Omar Marmoush another opportunity and he should be able to lead the line in the absence of Erling Haaland. The likelihood is that the Egyptian will be on Penalties and potentially Free Kicks from shooting range too and he looks a big price to open the scoring.
There should be plenty of quality behind Marmoush as well and the likes of Rayan Cherki can offer plenty of threat of their own, but the price on the likely further forward player is hard to ignore.
Salford City will absolutely look to keep things tight, but it could be another lond day in the office, even if the hosts are not able to reach eight goals again.
The Pick :
Manchester City 5-0 Salford City
