Man City v Plymouth: Use Betfair Build-Ups to back James McAtee to win SoT bet

• James McAtee has had four shots on target in two FA Cup games

• Man City youngster looks set to play starring role against Argyle

• More shots on target than Marmoush or Foden looks the play

Manchester City v Plymouth
Saturday, 17:45
Live in ITV4 & ITVX

Match Ups - McAtee worth chancing against teammates

Selecting a Match Ups wager using Betfair's player v player tool, Build Ups, can be quite tricky when doing it well in advance of the starting XIs being known, it's even harder when the match in question is a fifth round FA Cup tie featuring a manager who rarely ever picks the same starting line-up!

But it's no good us posting a selection 45 minutes before kick off once we know who is playing and who isn't, so let's take a chance on Man City's attacking midfielder James McAtee to continue his love affair with this season's FA Cup.

The good news is that McAtee has started both games in this season's competition so far, appearing for a total of 162 minutes in games against Salford and Leyton Orient. 

He of course scored a hat-trick against the former in an 8-0 romp, and although he didn't get on the scoresheet against Orient he was still one of City's better players in an otherwise poor performance from the Premier League outfit.

In total, McAtee has registered six shots at goal in the FA Cup this term with four of those being on target, and a home tie against Championship strugglers Plymouth will sure be another great opportunity for the 22-year-old to impress Pep Guardiola.

The problem we have is who do we back him to beat in a Shots on Target Match Up?

He's 12/53.40 to beat Omar Marmoush and 7/42.75 to beat Phil Foden, so those are the two bets we'll concentrate on. If both Marmoush and Foden start for City, then we'll take the 12/53.40 about McAtee beating Marmoush.

Of course, if any of the two City stars line-up tonight it will be tough for McAtee to register more shots on target, but that's why we're getting 12/53.40 and 7/42.75 respectively when he's available to back on the Betfair Sportsbook at just 1/41.25 to register 1+ shot on target and at 11/102.11 to register 2+ shots on target.  If he achieves the latter, he'll surely go close to winning his Match Up.

The reason for the bet(s), other than McAtee's impressive stats in the competition to date, is that we feel the City youngster is very likely to start and he'll be kept on the pitch for a longer period than Marmoush or Foden. It's pretty easy to envisage City winning this game comfortably, and if so Guardiola taking off his main men with plenty of time to spare is a likelihood.

It goes without saying that if Marmoush starts and Erling Haaland doesn't then he'll be City' main goalscoring threat, and if Foden starts he'll very likely to start in a very advanced role also, so both will be eager to get their shots away.

But given that McAtee is the outsider in both match ups, and we're confident he'll put on a good show, we're happy to take a chance that he gets more shots on target than at least one of his teammates.

Now read more FA Cup tips and previews here.