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Game: Middlesbrough vs Manchester City
Competition: FA Cup Third Round
Kickoff: January 2, 15:00 GMT
Venue: Riverside stadium

Roberto Mancini won four Copa Italias with three different teams in Italy before moving to England to lead Manchester City’s assault on football dominiation. His first English FA Cup game sees his side travel to the Riverside to take a injury-ravaged Middlesbrough side in the FA Cup Third round encounter.

Middlesbrough – recent form

v. Barnsley (Loss 1-2) Hoyte
v. Scunthorpe (Win 3-0) Johnson, Williams, Aliediare
v. Newscastle (Loss 0-3)

Middlebrough are lying mid-table in the Championship and have had a rather unspectacular run going into the game. Gordon Strachan would be looking to create a major upset when they face City. Strachan has managed to extend the loan deal of Marcus Bent, which will see him lead Boro’s attacking line in the absence of Aliadiere (injury) and Lita (suspension). Dutch under 21 international, Marvin Emnes, is also unavailable. Teenage strikers Jonathan Franks and Luke Williams might get a starting spot.

Manchester City – recent form

v. Wolves (Win 3-0) Tevez*2,Garrido
v. Stoke (Win 2-0) Tevez,Petrov
v. Sunderland (Win 4-3) Tevez,Bellamy,Santa Cruz*2
v. Tottenham (Loss 0-3)

Manchester City have a League cup semifinal to play against United on January 6. Hence, Mancio will be in a dilemma as to put out a full strength side or to rest a few key players for City’s first semifinal in 28 years. The injuries that have cut through the City squad will not help him one bit either. Joeleon Lescott is out after a leg operation. Shaun Wright Phillips is struggling with an ankle injury. Roque Santa Cruz has a calf strain. Stevie Ireland damaged his groin against Wolves and is out of action. Nedum Onouha is racing against time to be fit for the tie. Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor have left for the African Cup of Nations and won’t be availiable. City might be forced to blood in youth team players like Derek Boyata or Javan Vidal, especially in defence.

Match Verdict: Although City are a depleted side, the tactical nous of Mancini should guide them through to the next round. I’ll go with a 2-1 City win.

Man City 2-1 Boro (Bellamy,Petrov//Bent)

You could make decent money on the tie.Try out the following bookmakers.
12Bet
Bodog

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 31st, 2009 at 9:36 pm and is filed under Sports Betting and Handicapping. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.