With the Premier League season now concluded, attention turns to the oldest cup competition in world football, the FA Cup, as city rivals Manchester City and Manchester United lock horns at Wembley.
Pep Guardiola’s men have wrapped up another league title, finally coming out ahead after a ding dong battle with Arsenal all season. The class of City truly told in the end though and, with one trophy down, they’re eyeing up the second of a potential historic treble.
Upper hand
This is a fierce local rivalry and, despite this final taking place in London, it’s sure to be a red hot atmosphere. The Citizens will take heart from the fact that, in recent years at least, they’ve had the upper hand on their sworn enemies. That includes convincing 6-3 and 4-1 victories at the Etihad Stadium that will no doubt still be in the memories of most of the United squad.
Despite City’s dominance over the last decade, United actually won the last meeting between these two sides back in January. Quick fire goals from Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford cancelled out Jack Grealishes strike to hand the Red Devils a 2-1 win. That seems like a lifetime ago now though and a repeat seems unlikely.
Well rested
Having won the title with games to spare, Pep Guardiola was afforded the luxury of resting his key player for their final clash with Brentford last weekend. The likes of Erling Haaland, Kevin de Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan and John Stones will all be well rested and ready to put in their best performance come Saturday afternoon.
Despite having a top four spot sewn up before their final game against Fulham, Eric ten Hag took a different approach to his Spanish counterpart. The Dutchman named a relatively strong side for the final game at Old Trafford, with Rashford, Fernandes and Casemiro all starting the game. That gamble didn’t result in any injuries however, much to the relief of United fans.
Historic
Pep Guardiola and his men are on the verge of greatness, but their immortal legacy will only be secure if they land this trophy before going for the Champions League title in June. All of the focus will be on Wembley for now though, but it must be in the back of the minds of the players that they are on the verge of an historic treble winning season. Ironically, the last club to win the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League in a season was Manchester United in 1999.
That will add even more spice to an already tasty encounter as United are not only playing to win the cup, but to protect their status as one of the greatest Premier League teams of all time. If this City team were to emulate those achievements, those comparisons would happen practically instantaneously.
This one’s going to be a cracker.
Suggested bets
- Manchester City to Win & BTTS
- Erling Haaland & Marcus Rashford to Score
- 3-1 Correct Score
- Player to be sent off
