Preview: Manchester City vs Exeter City - prediction, team news, lineups

Manchester City will endeavour to claim their first victory of 2026 at the fourth time of asking when they play host to League One outfit Exeter City in the third round of the FA Cup on Saturday afternoon.

This contest represents the first ever competitive meeting between the two clubs, with the Grecians to be backed by a sold out away end of 7,800 supporters at the Etihad Stadium.

Match preview

After ending 2025 with eight consecutive wins in all competitions, it is fair to say that Man City have made an underwhelming start to the New Year, as they have drawn three successive Premier League matches against Sunderland, Chelsea and Brighton, settling for 1-1 home draws against the latter two in the space of just four days.

Erling Haaland’s 150th goal for an injury-hit Man City side was cancelled out by a second-half strike from Kaoru Mitoma on Wednesday night, with the Citizens left rueing a plethora of golden opportunities after suffering another frustrating setback in their pursuit of the Premier League title.

Now sitting five points behind leaders Arsenal and in danger of slipping eight points adrift if the Gunners beat Liverpool on Thursday, Pep Guardiola’s men are next in top-flight action against managerless rivals Man United on January 17, but they must first shift their focus to back-to-back cup clashes with Exeter (FA Cup) and Newcastle (EFL Cup semi-finals).

Man City are seven-time winners of the FA Cup and they have reached at least the semi-final stage of the competition in eight of the last nine seasons under Guardiola, but they have only triumphed on two occasions in 2018-19 and 2022-23, while they have lost the last two finals to Man United and current holders Crystal Palace.

Seeking to go one better this term, the Citizens will back themselves to prevail against Exeter as they have won their last 19 FA Cup tie against teams from lower divisions by an aggregate score of 72-10, since losing 1-0 at Wigan Athletic in the 2017-18 fifth round.

Exeter are experiencing their fourth successive season in League One and a much-needed upturn in form across their last three matches (W2 D1) has helped them climb up to 14th in the table and three points above the relegation zone.

Back-to-back 1-0 wins over AFC Wimbledon and Luton Town were followed by a 2-2 draw with Huddersfield Town last weekend, with top scorer Jayden Wareham increasing his goal tally for the campaign to 11 with an 89th-minute equaliser.

Exeter, who were knocked out in the FA Cup fourth round by Nottingham Forest last season, beat non-league Halifax Town 2-0 away from home in round one of this year’s competition before easing to a 4-0 victory over Wycombe Wanderers in the second round to set up their glamour tie at Man City.

Ahead of this weekend’s contest, chairman Pete Ferlie has admitted that “money is tight” at the club and their Supporters' Trust - which owns the League One side - have asked for Man City to give a greater share of the gate receipts from this cup tie, which in their view “would stand as a strong statement of solidarity with sustainable, fan-owned football.”

While Saturday’s fixture is the first competitive clash between these two clubs, Exeter did host Man City in a friendly at St James Park back in August 1996, with the Citizens winning 3-1 thanks to goals from Niall Quinn, Steve Lomas and Mikheil Kavelashvili.

Exeter fared better on the red side of Manchester in January 2005, though, when they held Man United to a 0-0 draw in an FA Cup third-round tie at Old Trafford - before losing 2-0 in a replay - and Caldwell’s side will be as motivated as ever to claim another surprise result against top-tier opposition this weekend.

Manchester City form (all competitions):

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Exeter City FA Cup form:

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Exeter City form (all competitions):

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Team News

Man City’s Josko Gvardiol (tibial fracture), Ruben Dias (hamstring), Savinho (unspecified), Oscar Bobb, John Stones (both thigh) and Mateo Kovacic (ankle/heel) are all sidelined with injuries, while Omar Marmoush and Rayan Ait-Nouri remain away on Africa Cup of Nations duty.

Guardiola may feel that this weekend’s match represents the best opportunity to rest a number of his key first-team players during a hectic fixture schedule across multiple competitions, which could therefore lead to a number of academy starlets featuring from the start.

Max Alleyne impressed on his senior debut for Man City in the midweek draw with Brighton, just days after being recalled from his loan spell at Championship side Watford, and the 20-year-old could continue at the heart of the defence.

Fellow academy players Stephen Mfuni, Kaden Braithwaite, Luke Mbete, Seb Naylor and Christian McFarlane may also be considered for first-team roles in defence, while Jaden Heskey and Reigan Heskey - both brothers and sons of ex-England striker Emile Heskey - as well as Charlie Gray, Ryan McAidoo, Divine Mukasa and Mahamadou Sangare could all be in contention to feature further up the pitch.

As for Exeter, Johnly Yfeko, Josh Magennis, Ryan Rydel and Danny Andrew are all set to remain sidelined with injuries, while defender Sil Swinkels was recently recalled by parent club Aston Villa.

Captain Pierce Sweeney and Jake Doyle-Hayes will both be hoping to force their way back into the first XI after dropping down to the bench for the draw with Huddersfield, while Ed Turns returned last time out after recovering from injury and could retain his starting spot.

Wing-back Ilmari Niskanen, who was named the club’s Player and Goal of the Month winner for December, is set to continue on the right flank, while Reece Cole and Jack Aitchison could both provide support for leading marksman Wareham up front.

Manchester City possible starting lineup:

Trafford; Lewis, Mfuni, Alleyne, Naylor; Gray, J. Heskey; McAidoo, Cherki, R. Heskey; Mukasa

Exeter City possible starting lineup:

Whitworth; Sweeney, Fitzwater, Turns; Niskanen, Doyle-Hayes, Brierley, McMillan; Cole, Aitchison; Wareham

We say: Manchester City 2-0 Exeter City

The prospect of Man City naming a much-rotated side filled with academy players would provide Exeter with a boost in their quest to cause an upset, but the hosts possess an array of highly-rated youngsters that are more than capable of competing against experienced pros from the lower divisions.

Guardiola will presumably have the big guns to bring on from the substitutes’ bench if his team find themselves struggling to get the better of the Grecians, and with that in mind as well as their desperation to return to winning ways, we are backing the Premier League side to prevail.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.