Intro: There was a time when the idea of Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City losing five in a row seemed unthinkable. One win in 13 matches felt impossible.
Manchester City bets
Odds
Winner v Leyton Orient and over 3.5 goals
Both teams to score and over 2.5 goals v Real Madrid
Erling Haaland for PL Golden Boot
FA Cup winner
Odds courtesy of Parimatch. Correct at time of publishing and subject to change.
After such a devastating defeat, City would relish a game where they can rebuild their confidence with an almost guaranteed victory – and they’ve got exactly that at Leyton Orient. Guardiola is likely to make a lot of changes, but even then, they’re huge favourites. The fact that you can bet against them to keep a clean sheet against a League One side at 2.25 says a lot about their season.
Even in these challenging times, there have been 4+ goals in eight of the Cityzens’ last games across all competitions. They scored eight times against a third-tier team in their last FA Cup outing.
Guardiola fielded some young players that time around, and he is likely to do the same again. However, he could also see it as another chance to integrate new signings like Nico Gonzalez, Vitor Reis and Abdukodir Khusanov. You can back Omar Marmoush to get his first City goal at 1.61.
Another factor that might prompt the Blues’ boss to make changes at Brisbane Road is their upcoming challenge– the mighty Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League. The hosts are slight favourites for victory at 2.25. Meanwhile, Los Blancos are the heaviest of heavyweights in this competition and are priced at 2.75 to come out on top.
As aforementioned, City games rarely lack goals (they haven’t been involved in a 0-0 draw since September), and both teams have scored in 10 of their last 14 matches. Considering that Real have only kept two clean sheets in eight games, while scoring in seven of them, this is set to be a high-scoring match.
Despite a difficult season by their own high standards, the sky blue side are having a nightmare of a season in the Premier League. Yet, even with just five wins in their last 15 Premier League outings, Erling Haaland remains firmly in the race for the Golden Boot.
Mo Salah currently leads the way with 21 goals to his name, but Haaland is just two behind him with 19. It’s hard to bet against him scoring plenty more in the final 14 games of their 2024/25 campaign. While it’s difficult to rely on City to win this season, Haaland’s current record of nine goals in 16 games suggests you can still rely on him to score.
Pep Guardiola has a track record of winning, a trend that has held true for over a decade now, no matter where he has managed. However, with his side now out of the Carabao Cup, facing a very tough draw in the UCL, and well off the pace in the Premier League, is the FA Cup their best shot at avoiding a trophyless season?
They face Orient in the fourth round this weekend, and at least a handful of top-flight clubs will be eliminated before the next draw. According to Betway, they are the favourites to go all the way.
After the Orient game, City face a series of difficult fixtures, including against Real Madrid (2 games), Newcastle United, title-chasing Liverpool, and an away game to Tottenham Hotspur. February could shape their whole season. The Cup provides some relief from this tough schedule, and it’ll be interesting to see who they face next if/when they breeze past the O’s.