Overview
Man City closed 2025 with a streak of 8 consecutive victories in all competitions, but entering the new year, Pep Guardiola's team started quite out of sync.
They drew 3 consecutive matches in the Premier League against Sunderland, Chelsea and Brighton. In which they only had two 1-1 draws at home against Chelsea and Brighton in 4 days.
Erling Haaland's 150th goal for a Man City that was heavily affected by injury was equalized by Kaoru Mitoma in the second half. The draw made The Citizens regret once again, when they missed too many clear opportunities and continued to make things difficult for themselves in the championship race.
Currently 6 points behind Arsenal, Man City will return to the Premier League with a derby against Man United on January 17. However, in the immediate future, they must resolve two consecutive cup matches: Exeter in the FA Cup and Newcastle in the semi-finals of the English League Cup.
Man City has won the FA Cup 7 times and under Guardiola, they reached at least the semi-finals in 8/9 of the last seasons. However, the championship record is only twice (2018-2019 and 2022-2023), while they lost two recent finals to Man United and defending champion Crystal Palace.
With the goal of creating a "more standard" campaign this season, Man City has reason to be confident against Exeter. They have won 19 consecutive FA Cup matches against lower-ranked teams, with a total score of 72-10, since the 0-1 defeat to Wigan in the 5th round of the 2017-2018 season.
In the opposite direction, Exeter is experiencing their fourth consecutive season in League One. The timely recovery in the last 3 matches (2 wins, 1 draw) helped them rise to 14th place, creating a 3-point gap compared to the relegation group.
After two consecutive 1-0 victories against AFC Wimbledon and Luton Town, Exeter drew 2-2 with Huddersfield Town last weekend. In that match, number one striker Jayden Wareham increased his total goals this season to 11 with an equalizer in the 89th minute.
In this FA Cup season, Exeter successively defeated Halifax Town 2-0 away from home in the first round, then won big against Wycombe Wanderers 4-0 in the second round to meet Man City.
This is the first time the two teams have met in an official match. Previously, Exeter welcomed Man City in a friendly match at St James Park in August 1996, where Man City won 3-1 thanks to goals from Niall Quinn, Steve Lomas and Mikheil Kavelashvili.
However, Exeter left their mark in Manchester in January 2005, when they drew 0-0 with Man United in the third round of the FA Cup at Old Trafford, before losing 0-2 in the replay. Coach Caldwell's team will therefore be even more determined to recreate another surprise against a "big team" this weekend.
Personnel situation
Man City continues to suffer significant personnel losses. Josko Gvardiol (brachial fracture), Ruben Dias (strap tendon injury), Savinho (undetermined injury), Oscar Bobb and John Stones (both thigh injuries), along with Mateo Kovacic (ankle/leg injury) are all on strike. In addition, Omar Marmoush and Rayan Ait-Nouri are still on duty in the African Cup.
In the context of a dense schedule on many fronts, Guardiola can see the match against Exeter this weekend as a suitable time to rotate, creating conditions for some key players to rest. That scenario opens up opportunities for young talents from the academy to be given a starting spot.
On the Exeter side, Johnly Yfeko, Josh Magennis, Ryan Rydel and Danny Andrew continue to be absent due to injury. Defender Sil Swinkels has also just been called up by his club Aston Villa.
Regarding personnel who may return, captain Pierce Sweeney and Jake Doyle-Hayes both set a goal to regain a starting spot after being on the bench in the draw against Huddersfield. Ed Turns returned in the previous match after recovering from injury and may continue to hold a position in the starting lineup.
Expected lineup:
Man City: Trafford, Lewis, Mfuni, Alleyne, Naylor, Gray, J. Heskey, McAidoo, Cherki, R. Heskey, Mukasa.
Exeter City: Whitworth, Sweeney, Fitzwater, Turns, Niskanen, Doyle-Hayes, Brierley, McMillan, Cole, Aitchison, Wareham.
The match between Man City and Exeter City takes place at 10:00 PM on January 10 (Vietnam time).
