Bet on Man City - get a refund if they exit
Manchester City needed two tries to eliminate Leicester and Notts County from the FA Cup, while Reading have shocked Liverpool, Burnley, West Brom and Everton in the competition since the start of 2010, so Sunday's quarter-final between the two is arguably the perfect recipe for an upset.
Countering that theory emphatically though is the fact that once the Citizens took those opponents back to Eastlands, their attacking stars like Carlos Tevez, Edin Dzeko and, umm, Patrick Vieira absolutely tore them to shreds. In fact, they have scored a dozen times in three FA Cup ties there.
Roberto Mancini's side have been practically untouchable at home since Christmas, with bogey club Fulham the only of their ten visitors to have avoided defeat, form that indicates that odds of [1.4] on the hosts booking a spot in the semi-finals for the first time since 1981 are very much justified.
Thanks to our special offer for those opening new Betfair accounts, you can bet up to £25 on this match and have your stake refunded if your punt proves unsuccessful.
It's worth mentioning that Reading won three of their four encounters as equals during their two-year Premier League stint between 2006 and 2008, however they all took place before Manchester City's takeover, while the Royals have reached the final four just once before, way back in 1927.
The top-four hopefuls meanwhile have struck three or more times in six of their last eight games in front of their supporters so take advantage if a price of [2.9] or more is offered on that impressive trend continuing.
One feature of Manchester City home fixtures that might not be maintained is their tendency to keep clean sheets, having kept five in six. They are [2.14] not to concede but Reading have netted 25 times in their last 14 away matches, only failing to fire in one of those. Both teams to score is [1.96].
Manchester City v Reading
Kick-off: 4.45pm (Sunday)
Live on ESPN
Fancy Reading to pull off another surprise? They are [9.8] to win...
Published: 11 Mar 2011
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