It’s The Citizens against The Reds in FA Cup final
Manchester City, Manchester United meet for the first time
WITH the English Premier League now done and dusted, fans will on Saturday (June 3) witness the first-ever Manchester derby in an FA Cup final. This, as Manchester City and fierce rivals Manchester United square off at Wembley in an eagerly anticipated FA Cup finale.
Event # 1 – FA Cup Final – Man City vs Man United – 9:00 am
Manchester City managed by Pep Guardiola will be taking one more step towards a famous treble if they can win this season’s FA Cup crown at the expense of the only previous team to have accomplished this rare feat, Manchester United.
Indeed, Manchester United won the Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League in 1999 and will be desperate to stop their “noisy neighbours” from doing the same.
Manchester City won the Premier League crown with three matches to go, and if they can get by their fierce rivals in the FA Cup, only Inter Milan stand in their way of joining Man. United as the only two teams to win the treble in a single season.
Since clinching the Premier League title, Man City have had mixed results as they have rested key players in preparation for the two cup finals. They will enter this final on the back of a final day 1-0 loss away to Brentford in a game that they rested nearly all of their regular starters. So far this season both City and United have won one match each on their home turf with Man United winning 2-1, while Man City won 6-3 back in October, which was the highest scoring Manchester derby in the league’s history with nine goals.
Man. City will be favoured to win the title as they have in their ranks the signing of the year in Erling Haaland, who in his first season in the league has broken the record for most goals in an English Premier League campaign with 36 strikes.
Manchester United had an excellent season finishing third in the Premier League and like their rivals Man City, have already won a title defeating Newcastle back in February to lift the English Football League (EFL) (Carabao) Cup.
Managed by Erik Ten Hag, Manchester United have dominated this competition over the years as they are one of only two clubs with double digits wins in the FA Cup with (12) wins, just two behind record holders Arsenal (14), so they will be highly motivated to add to their tally of wins while denying Manchester City their seventh hold on the trophy. Manchester United have had ups and down throughout the season, but eventually, got it right to finish third in the Premier League winning their last four matches in a row, including a 2-1 at home against Fulham on the final day of the season. The two city rivals tend to produce entertaining matches, with the previous two clashes ending 6-3 and 2-1, so fans should expect another pulsating clash at Wembley tomorrow, Saturday, June 3.
KEY STATS
Manchester City – this is Manchester City’s 12th FA Cup final, winning six and losing five of the previous 11. They’ve alternated between losing and winning in their last four, most recently beating Watford 6-0 in 2019. Interestingly, following their Premier League title win, Manchester City could win the league and FA Cup double for the second time in their history, after 2018-19 they would be the third team to do so on more than two occasions after Manchester United (1993-94, 1995-96, 1998-99) and Arsenal (1970-71, 1997-98, 2001-02).
Manchester United – are contesting their 21st FA Cup final, the joint-most of any side in the history of the competition along with Arsenal. They’ve won the trophy 12 times, with their total of eight final losses the joint-most of any side along with Chelsea and Everton.
Both sides – this is the first-ever major final between Manchester City and Manchester United. However, Manchester United have won five of their last six FA Cup meetings with Man City, most recently a 3-2 away win in January 2012. The only exception in that run was a semi-final victory for Man City in 2010-11.
The betting tip: Manchester City win.