Man City vs Burton
EFL Cup semi-final first leg 2018-19
Venue: Etihad Stadium
Date: Wednesday 9 January, 2019
Kick-off: 7:45pm GMT
Burton Albion face English champions Manchester City in the first leg of their EFL Cup semi-final clash at the Etihad on Wednesday night.
The Brewers have enjoyed an impressive cup run to reach the last four of the competition, knocking out Aston Villa, Burnley, Nottingham Forest and Middlesbrough en route to a huge clash against Pep Guardiola's City.
Burton head to the Etihad full of confidence after a 4-0 win at Rochdale on Saturday, but Nigel Clough's League One side will need something truly special if they are going to knock out the Premier League champions across two games.
Man City team news and predicted line-up
Pep Guardiola hopes Benjamin Mendy can return to first-team action before the end of the month.
The French World Cup winner has been sidelined since knee surgery in November but Guardiola revealed the left-back has returned to light training and is two to three weeks away from a return.
Guardiola has no other injury concerns ahead of Wednesday's Carabao Cup semi-final first leg against Burton, with Fabian Delph returning from suspension.
Provisional squad: Muric, Ederson, Walker, Danilo, Stones, Otamendi, Kompany, Laporte, Zinchenko, Delph, Gundogan, Foden, Fernandinho, Mahrez, D Silva, B Silva, De Bruyne, Sane, Sterling, Aguero, Jesus, Garcia, Sandler, F Nmecha.
Predicted Man City XI: Muric; Danilo, Sandler, Laporte, Zinchenko; Fernandinho, De Bruyne; Bernardo Silva, Foden, Mahrez; Aguero
Score prediction: Man City 4-0 Burton
If City get the ball rolling early on, then Burton could be in for a long night.
With the champions firmly back in the title race after beating Liverpool, Guardiola will not want to see slip-ups in any competition in case it disrupts momentum.
Expect City to attack from the first whistle, though Burton will no doubt look to trouble the hosts on the counter - something of a weakness for City in recent months.
Betting tips via Betfair | UK users only | Subject to change
Match odds
- Man City to reach the final: 1/100
- Burton to reach the final: 14/1
First goalscorer odds
- Sergio Aguero: 2/1
- Riyad Mahrez: 9/2
- Bernardo Silva: 6/1
Click here to find the latest match odds and place a bet.
Tickets
Click here to check the availability of Man City vs Burton tickets.
TV channel and live stream online coverage
The match will be shown live on Sky Sports' Football and Main Event channels, and is available via NOW TV with a day pass on offer for £7.99.
Sky Sports subscribers can stream the match online via SkyGo and the SkyGo app.
