While the Citizens aim to lift England’s oldest trophy for the seventh time in their history, the Red Devils are hoping to get their hands on the prestigious prize for a 13th time. It’s the FA Cup Final!
Manchester City vs Manchester United
FA Cup Final
Saturday 3 June – 15:00 BST
Wembley Stadium
Erling Haaland, you might have noticed, is an absolutely stunning footballer! Some might even suggest the best to grace the English game, and so it would be entirely remiss of me to start with anything (or anyone) at Manchester City.
He’s scored 52 goals in 51 appearances for City and is certainly their talisman in the final third. We know that City will look to dominate possession of the ball, and so United will be posed with a question: how much space do you concede without inviting the likes of Haaland to enjoy space in behind?
Pep Guardiola has made a career out of uncompromising expectations of excellence. Yes, they had the league wrapped up with two fixtures still to go, but his demeanor and obvious frustrations to their performances once again illustrate his thirst for winning. I only bring this up because I cannot help but wonder whether this final is the ‘smaller’ cup in their quest for a treble…
We know that everything City is effectively built on these days is rooted in a longing for Champions League glory, and so with the celebratory attitude after the league win and one eye on the Champions League, a lapse in concentration here might open the door to their neighbours.
Pep Guardiola on Erling Haaland: "I am very pleased that he has achieved all that he has achieved, with the goals and the records and then he goes to Brighton and plays the way he played, fighting against two young lads and demanding a lot and finish with the legs and body and… pic.twitter.com/k5AeLkkJc5
— City Report (@cityreport_) May 27, 2023
To Win Match
Manchester City 8/15 | Draw 10/3 | Manchester United 9/2
I am not criticizing the performance of United on the final day, but with just third in the league up for grabs and this monster fixture six days later, you must believe that the club had their focus divided.
It should be noted that Erik ten Hag’s side sort of dragged themselves over the line in attaining Champions League qualification, but their form at Old Trafford was remarkable!
I know that many might see this as being a little dramatic, but the Theatre of Dreams hasn’t looked anything near a fortress for a while and under the new manager it certainly has that feel again.
An underwhelming United performance here is simply not going to be good enough, if they replicate that performance, they registered in the semi-final against Brighton this could be rather uncomfortable.
One can only hope that the players they have in that squad who have done it on the biggest stages (Casemiro, Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martinez, David de Gea et al) play a role in ensuring the mentality is correct and their performance justifies their talent.
Predicted Line-ups:
Manchester City: Ederson; Akanji, Dias, Laporte, Walker, Gundogan, Rodri, Alvarez, Mahrez, Foden, Haaland
Manchester United: De Gea, Varane, Lindelof, Wan-Bissaka, Shaw, Casemiro, Eriksen, Antony, Fernandes, Sancho, Martial.
Verdict: Manchester City + BTTS (11/5)
City are justified favourites here, but at 8/15 I’m not going to get to many plaudits for tipping their victory! City will boss the ball, I know that you know that your gold fish knows that…
I can’t see United doing anything other than trying to hit City on the counter with the pace they have out wide and the creativity they have in that midfield area. We’ve seen them get great currency from it before and will surely look to replicate it here.
City have unbelievable firepower upfront, and I suspect they will use the pace of the game to ensure that at no point this becomes cagey. They will welcome a free-flowing game, knowing what they can do in an opponent’s final third…
