Manchester City will be aiming to put one foot in the League Cup final when they welcome Bristol City to the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday for the first leg of their semi-final.
Running away with the Premier League and still competing all three cup competitions, Pep Guardiola’s men have been tipped by some to scoop an unprecedented quadruple this season.
Match odds
With a second leg to come at Ashton Gate in two weeks’ time, they are available at 1/8 (1.13) with Paddy Power to remain on track for a first trophy of the season by coming out on top in this one.
Getty ImagesHowever, the Robins have eliminated four top flight opponents to reach this stage of the competition, and are on offer at 20/1 (21.00) to give themselves a decent chance of making it six with a shock victory here.
The hosts have actually needed penalties to make their way past the last two rounds, and you can get odds of 8/1 (9.00) on them being held to a stalemate yet again this time out.
Team news
Having consistently put out strong teams in this competition, Guardiola is only expected to do without injured players such as Gabriel Jesus and Vincent Kompany, while David Silva may be absent once again due to personal reasons.
Lee Johnson is likely to field the same XI that knocked out Manchester United in the previous round, with Famara Diedhiou and Callum O’Dowda among the injury list.
Johnson actually rested a number of his own players in Saturday’s FA Cup tie at Watford in order to prioritise this match, a decision that surely contributed to a comprehensive 3-0 defeat.
Tips and predictions
Having lost 5-0 to Aston Villa and 2-1 to Wolves in their two games prior to the trip to Vicarage Road, the Championship side are hardly in strong form for a game against the high-flying Citizens.
With Manchester City determined to put the tie to bed as soon as possible in order to turn their attention to other competitions, odds of 5/6 (1.83) actually look like solid value on them winning by at least three clear goals against an out-of-sorts Bristol City.
Manchester City (-2) to win at 5/6 (1.83) for a 2pt stake with Paddy Power