Manchester City to ease past Burton in EFL Cup semi-final first leg
Oleksandr Osipov / Shutterstock.com
Manchester City are riding high as they head into Wednesday night’s EFL/Carabao Cup semi-final first leg match against Burton Albion.
Pep Guardiola’s team has won three straight matches in all competitions and are full of confidence. The Cityzens defeated Rotherham in the FA Cup at the weekend 7-0 and fears are they could throttle Burton by a similar large scoreline.
Nigel Clough’s Brewers go into the semi-final unbeaten in their last four matches. Burton tuned up for the Carabao Cup match with a 4-0 win over Rochdale at the weekend. Burton sit ninth in League One, a far cry from the heights that Manchester City soar at currently in the Premier League.
Burton have not been a pushover in this year’s Carabao Cup and their path to the semi-finals has seen them get past three Championship teams and one Premier League club. Clough has watched his players defeat Aston Villa, Burnley, and Nottingham Forest at home. In the quarter-finals, Burton won away to Middlesbrough. Although Manchester City are superior and in great form, they cannot take Burton lightly based on the Brewers’ wins.
Manchester City inched closer to Liverpool at the top of the table last time out in the Premier League. The Cityzens are now four points back, but the added fixtures of the Carabao Cup, FA Cup, and Champions League could play havoc with overtaking the Reds. Liverpool are out of the domestic cup competitions, and while Jurgen Klopp’s side saw major player re-shuffles for their cup games, Guardiola has taken the Carabao Cup very seriously.
The semi-final is a two-legged series and Burton will need to be special over the two matches to down the reigning Premier League champions. Manchester City are massive favourites according to leading sportsbooks for Wednesday’s game. Burton are incredible longshots as they go into the lion’s den of the Etihad.
Guardiola could play David Silva, Vincent Kompany, and Fabian Delph as all three returned to training this week following injuries. Guardiola has two options for Wednesday night. He could either play his strongest side and finish off Burton in the first leg or he could rest his big stars. Either way, Manchester City have more than enough firepower to win.
Burton’s goal will be under threat throughout the night. The Cityzens will attack early and often against the Brewers. It could be a very long night for Burton goalkeeper Stephen Bywater. Manchester City will be rampant with a win and over 2.5 goals scored in the semi-final first leg.
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