Rest but no respite at the Etihad
Every match is in the league from now until the end of the season is a must win for Manchester City, such is the nature of the title race this time round. That's why they'll be taking no prisoners.
Pep needs to rest
Pep Guardiola needs to play it just right and not wear out his key players by putting too many minutes under their belts. Agüero is just one of those players who’s likely to be rested for what should be a routine game at home to Cardiff.
City have to take into consideration their matchup against Spurs next week in the Champions League, and it’s likely that in-form Raheem Sterling might be given a rest for Cardiff.
Having said that, I think City will do what’s required here and get the job done fairly convincingly, although I don’t foresee an absolute rout.
A different prospect
Cardiff are likely to be up for this since they’re risking a relegation battle. The Bluebirds are capable of scoring goals, it’s a completely different prospect netting against a stable City side. Cardiff could’ve got something against Chelsea but then Chelsea are a world apart from City.
Corner craze
City can create a wealth of chances on any given day, and the by-product of that are corner balls. Just looking back towards previous matches it tells its own story: Fulham - 11 corners, Watford - 9 corners, Bournemouth - 14 corners, West Ham, 13 corners.
Betting tip
It simply not enough betting on City alone anyone. If you want to find any value you have to either handicap or play a combo bet. Given the corner stats, and how free scoring they are in front of goal, and the nature of the opponent I’m going with a City win, under 5.5 goals in the match and over 6.5 corners for City.
You can back this bet by building your own bet with bet365 at solid odds of 21/20 (2.05).
Bet City win, under 5.5 goals, City over 6.5 corners on Bet365
