Peterborough v Manchester City: Back Posh to get on the scoresheet

Peterborough v Man City
Tuesday, 19:15
Live on ITV

Welcome distraction from Championship struggles

It looks like it's going to be a swift return to League One for Peterborough who sit rock bottom of the Championship, eight points adrift of safety.

Posh haven't won a league game since early December and just last week manager Darren Ferguson brought his third stint at the club to an end by resigning from his position.

By pure coincidence another maanger - Grant McCann - returned to Peterborough for his own third stint as manager having previously taken caretaker charge in 2015 before holding the position on a permanent basis between 2016 and 2018.

McCann's first game in charge was a 0-3 home defeat to Hull City on Saturday, though he won't need to raise his men's spirits with a glamour FA Cup tie at home to Manchester City surely enough to get the players pumped up.

It's a welcome distraction from Posh's league woes, and having registered home wins over Bristol Rovers and highflying Championship side QPR in the previous rounds, Peterborough should be confident of a bold showing against the best team in the country.

Citizens show us that they're human after all

After writing the sub-header above I couldn't help but think of the moment Rocky's trainer says, "you see, you see, he's not a machine, he's a man" after Balbao had cut the towering Ivan Drago's eye in Rocky IV.

Like Drago, Man City have shown us all in that last week that they're not invincible and that they can be troubled by weaker opponents.

True, the home defeat to Tottenham and the surprising below par performance against Everton on Saturday - a game they still won may I add - is probably only a mini blip, but it at least gives any team that has to face Pep Guardiola's men a glimmer of hope.

But let's not beat around the bush, this Manchester City team are still a formidable outfit.

In the 10 weeks or so since Peterborough last won a league game Guardiola's men have won 13 of 15 games, scoring 45 goals - an average of exactly three per game - in the process.

Posh given little hope in Match Odds

We will move on quicky from the Match Odds market but I have to admit to being slighly surprised that City can be backed at 1.152/13 (and have been matched at 1.192/11). I'd have thought that a price of around 1.11/10 would have been close to the best that you could hope for.

But I'm not into backing huge odds-on shots in football, even when I think it will land, and by the same token I certainly can't recommended anyone backing Peterborough at around the 30.029/1 mark or the Draw at 10.09/1,

I believe the Premier League champions will win this game, and probably by a comfortable margin.

On the Sportsbook Man City can be backed at 3/10 to cover the -1 goal handicap, 10/11 to cover the -2 goals, and 11/5 to cover -3 goals.

Trends point to hosts getting on the scoresheet

There's a theory that Manchester City don't have a weakened side, and to some extent that's largely true, whatever the starting XI Guardiola goes with is usually good enough to trade blows with any team in Europe, they have so much strength in depth.

But when the Man City boss has made changes in this competition - and he usually does - then they've been far from watertight in recent seasons.

City's last five games in domestic cup competitions against teams from a lower division have produced five wins by scorelines of 4-1 (Fulham), 4-1 (Swindon), 6-1 (Wycombe), 3-1 (Swansea) and 3-1 (Cheltenham).

There's an obvious pattern there, and that's that City tend to win well, but they've always conceded.

I can't even imagine a scenario where City don't score so if you do fancy Posh to get on the scoresheet - and I do - then backing Yes in the Both Teams to Score market at 11/8 is one possible option.

However, I think the bet has to be both teams getting on the scoresheet and Man City winning the game, which is available to back at 9/5 on the Sportsbook.