Sheffield Wednesday vs Manchester City 05/03/20

5 March 2020

Sheffield Wednesday and Manchester City go head-to-head at Hillsborough in the FA Cup round of 16 in what appears to be a routine task for the Citizens.

The hosts welcome one of the strongest sides in England in the midst of a crisis, having picked up just one win in their last eight competitive fixtures (D3, L4). Wednesday’s struggling in the recent period has been highlighted by an obvious lack of creativity in the final third. Indeed, they’ve managed over 1.5 match goals only once in their eight previous games. Moreover, the Owls have drawn a blank in four of six home outings since the turn of the year, scoring one goal apiece in the other two. Even if they score here, Garry Monk’s players are likely to do it late in the game, as five of their last seven home goals bagged came beyond the 70-minute mark

Fresh from beating Aston Villa 2-1 in the Carabao Cup final, the visitors will look to continue their cup dominance when they take on a team they’ve beaten in five of six competitive H2Hs since the turn of the new millennium (D1). Huge pre-match favorites, the reigning Premier League champions have won four consecutive games in the build-up to this clash, although three of those successes yielded a single-goal margin. In turn, four of City’s last away victories have each seen them prevail via a one-goal margin, with three of those successes coming after a goalless first-half stalemate. Regardless of the outcome, Pep Guardiola’s men are likely to score a couple of goals here, considering they’ve netted over 1.5 in ten of their last 13 road trips in all competitions.