Key Points
- Manchester City host Exeter City in the FA Cup third round at the Etihad Stadium.
- The tie pitches Premier League champions against a mid-table League One side with limited recent head-to-head history.
- Both teams enter the match with contrasting league form but positive recent FA Cup records.
Manchester (The Wales Times) January 10, 2026 – Manchester City face Exeter City in the FA Cup third round at the Etihad Stadium, in a tie that highlights the competition’s traditional gulf between top-flight contenders and lower-league challengers, with attention focused on form, statistics and the clubs’ sparse modern head-to-head record.
The match, scheduled for a 15:00 GMT kick-off in Manchester, sees Pep Guardiola’s side seeking relief from stuttering Premier League form against Gary Caldwell’s Exeter, who arrive from League One with encouraging recent results and a productive FA Cup run that has showcased several in-form attackers.
What are the key FA Cup details for Manchester City vs Exeter City?
Manchester City host Exeter City in a 2025–26 FA Cup third-round tie at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, with the game set for Saturday 10 January and kick-off at 15:00 GMT. According to coverage of the fixture build-up, the match forms part of a busy period for City, coming amid a sequence of domestic and cup commitments that follow three consecutive Premier League draws and an earlier run of eight straight wins in all competitions.
As reported by Goal, Manchester City approach the tie after three successive league draws against Sunderland, Chelsea and Brighton, a sequence that has slowed their title push but underlines why the FA Cup is being framed as an important opportunity to reassert momentum in knockout competition.
How do Manchester City and Exeter City compare in current form?
Manchester City’s recent form has been mixed: they enjoyed an impressive eight-match winning streak across competitions before their current sequence of three Premier League draws, which has allowed rivals to close the gap in the title race. Reporting by Sports Illustrated FC notes that, despite this blip, City remain heavy favourites for the tie and are expected to rotate their squad while still fielding a side strong enough to control possession and create chances consistently at home.
Exeter City, by contrast, travel from League One, where they sit in mid-table but within single-digit points of the play-off places. Goal’s coverage indicates that Exeter are unbeaten in their last three matches and have won three of their previous five, suggesting an upturn that has carried into their FA Cup campaign. That cup run has featured notable attacking contributions from Jack Aitchison, Akeel Higgins and Jayden Wareham, with Wareham already into double figures in all competitions this season.
Which players and managers could define the FA Cup third-round tie?
Pep Guardiola remains central to Manchester City’s approach, with reports highlighting his likely use of rotation to rest regular starters while introducing younger players and squad options who are expected still to give City a significant technical and physical edge. Sports Illustrated FC’s preview emphasises that even a heavily rotated City line-up will have high-calibre options on the bench, capable of changing the match if an early breakthrough proves elusive.
On the Exeter side, manager Gary Caldwell carries particular FA Cup resonance, having been part of the Wigan Athletic squad that famously upset Manchester City in the 2013 FA Cup final. Current reporting notes that Caldwell’s knowledge of City’s style and of underdog cup dynamics feeds into Exeter’s cautious yet optimistic approach. In attack, Goal’s coverage underlines the importance of Jayden Wareham, who has scored 11 goals in 30 appearances this season, alongside Aitchison and Higgins, who were all on the scoresheet in Exeter’s previous FA Cup round win over Wycombe Wanderers.
What does the head-to-head and FA Cup history suggest about this fixture?
Recent reporting on the fixture focuses less on a detailed historic head-to-head series and more on the structural imbalance between a reigning Premier League force and a League One club. Manchester City, seven-time FA Cup winners according to Sports Illustrated FC, have established themselves as perennial contenders in the competition and last season recorded an emphatic third-round victory, scoring eight without reply against Salford City.
Exeter City’s modern meetings with Manchester City have been rare, and coverage surrounding this tie frames the match as a classic FA Cup mismatch rather than a renewal of a longstanding rivalry. For Exeter, the FA Cup represents both financial and sporting opportunity, and their recent results, including a strong display in the prior round, hint at the resilience and attacking threat required if they are to trouble higher-tier opponents away from home.
The implications for both teams are clear: Manchester City are expected to progress comfortably to the fourth round and use the tie to regain rhythm and assess squad depth, while Exeter City view the match as a chance to test themselves against elite opposition, showcase key players and potentially produce one of the competition’s most notable upsets if they can defy the form guide and statistical probabilities.
