City to Take a Stroll Through The Meadow

Manchester City travel to Meadow Lane this Sunday looking to book a place in the fifth round of the FA Cup.

City, with their plethora of big-money signings, go to League One Notts County who, going into the weekend, are 59 places below The Citizens in English football’s pecking order.

Although City are on course for a top four finish, and that is undoubtedly the priority for manager Roberto Mancini, owner Sheikh Mansour will be keen to get his hands on some silverware sooner rather than later given the level of his investment in recent years.

And with five Premier League teams guaranteed to exit the competition at this fourth round stage the FA Cup offers a prime opportunity for Mancini to provide that trophy.

The Italian will be without the services of Adam Johnson this weekend after the winger injured his ankle in training, new signing Edin Dzeko could make his FA Cup debut and Micah Richards could return.

County will be without midfielder Alan Judge but are hopeful that centre-back Mike Edwards will be available to play.

Having already upset the odds by beating Sunderland in the third round County manager Paul Ince will be hoping that his side can put up another good show in front of a sold out Meadow Lane. However, The Magpies have not won in three league games and come into this one just four points above the League One relegation zone.

Yet form tends to go out the window for lower league sides on occasions such as this and if City’s stars don’t fancy getting their hands dirty there’s certainly the potential for an upset here.

County will need to produce plenty of that famous FA Cup magic if they are to avoid being blown away by high-flying City. But don’t write off the lower league outfit.