The battle of Manchester- FA cup final Preview
On Saturday, the 2023 FA Cup final between Manchester City and Manchester United will be held at Wembley Stadium, making it the first all-Manchester final in the competition's history
A Key Stat To Remember
Erling Halaand's season-high 52 goals could be supplemented by another record here. He has a chance of becoming the first Norwegian to score in an FA Cup final. Manchester City have yet to concede a goal in the FA Cup this season. If they win without conceding, they will be only the third team in history to do so. Bury was the last person to accomplish this in 1903. Manchester United have never won both the FA Cup and the League Cup in the same season, despite their illustrious history. Manchester United have won five of their past six FA Cup meetings with City, despite the fact that the teams last met in 2012.
Manchester City Team News
Although we already know that Ortega will start over Ederson following Pep's recent press conference.
"He is going to play. It has always been like that at Barcelona and in Munich; the keeper that plays in the cups is going to play "
There are still some key points injury-wise to address for the citizens:
Last weekend, Manuel Akanji (knock), Jack Grealish (knock), Ruben Dias (knock), and Kevin de Bruyne (knock) were all left behind in Manchester as a precaution. In truth, the supposed injuries could have been a cover-up meant to rest key players while maintaining the Premier League's integrity on the last day. They should all be available.
Manchester United Team News
On the red side of Manchester, the injuries are more nailed on.
Donny van de Beek (knee), Lisandro Martinez (ankle), Marcel Sabitzer (knee), Anthony Martial (hamstring) and Phil Jones (knee) will be unavailable due to injury. Anthony who left the pitch on the a stretcher against Chelsea, will be assessed ahead of the game.
FA Cup Final
Pep Guardiola relinquished his team's unbeaten streak in all competitions to rest players for the last day's match against Brentford. They had previously gone unbeaten in 25 games. United's unbroken streaks are a thing of the past, but they have progressed under Erik ten Hag. His team concluded the season with four consecutive victories.
Manchester City won the league double over their opponents last season and thrashed them 6-3 in the first meeting of the 2022/23 season, but were defeated 2-1 at Old Trafford.
Despite their trophy-winning history and Manchester City's recent dominance of English football, this will be the clubs' first meeting in a major final. This year, City has been the standout team in the competition, entering this game as the leading scorer with 17 goals and a flawless defensive record. United had to ride their luck and grind out a 0-0 draw against Brighton before winning on penalties to advance to their 21st FA Cup final.
It may also come as a surprise that only four teams have won both the FA Cup and the League Cup, and the Red Devils are not one of them.
Ten Hag's team lacks the leaders to achieve significant results on the road and advance to the next phase, but getting City away from the Etihad gives them a better chance. Regardless, we must conclude that Guardiola's team is an expert at navigating Cup finals, and they not only have stronger leadership at the back, but they also have more quality in the middle of the park. The man on the side-lines could be the most important aspect.
Pep Guardiola has an immaculate record in cup finals. He has won all five domestic finals in which he has led City, and he has not lost a domestic cup final at any team since 2011. One interesting trend we saw was when each side chooses to score and give up.
Man City's goals are split evenly across halves, but they perform best either side of halftime. United has a habit of keeping things tight in the first 15 minutes of games, scoring and allowing a total of 12 goals.
My Prediction
Manchester City 2-1 Manchester United
Josh Lucas
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