FA Cup Final Preview: Man City and Man Utd collide at Wembley
The stakes couldn’t be much higher in the latest instalment of the Manchester Derby. Which half of the city will be celebrating FA Cup glory when another chapter of this rich rivalry is written? Let’s take a look at the fixture from all angles before kick-off on Saturday 3rd June.
Man City vs Man Utd: FA Cup Final talking points
Manchester Derby history speaks for itself
189 Manchester Derby clashes precede this, though this is the first ever in an FA Cup final. Man Utd hold the historical edge with 78 wins to Man City’s 58, and 53 have been drawn. City have been superior in recent years though, with 4 wins in the last 6 across all competitions.
United gunning for lucky number 13
Manchester United have won 12 FA Cup crowns in their history, making them the only side other than Arsenal (14) with wins in the double digits.
Red Devils got revenge last time out
United actually won the most recent Manchester Derby, a 2-1 success at Old Trafford despite going behind to Jack Grealish’s goal on the hour mark. Alejandro Garnacho laid on Marcus Rashford’s winner and in so doing, became the youngest player ever to claim an assist in a Premier League Manchester Derby. The teenage Argentine is pushing hard to start this final on the left-hand-side of United’s attack.
The other league fixture this season was a 6-3 win for City with Erling Haaland and Phil Foden both bagging hat-tricks. Indeed, that was the highest-scoring Manchester Derby in history. Foden became the youngest player ever to score 50 goals under Pep Guardiola (22y 127d) surpassing Lionel Messi who hit that landmark aged 22y 164d (stat via Opta Analyst).
Casemiro is a Red Devil in more ways than one
Real Madrid legend Casemiro has been a huge asset in the United midfield this season, but it hasn’t been purely straightforward for the Brazilian. He became the first player to receive 2 red cards in a single Premier League campaign for United since Nemanja Vidić in 2013/14 (stat via Opta Analyst).
He’ll need to keep his cool in what should be a fiery atmosphere if United are to get the better of this titanic tussle.
Erling is inevitable
Erling Haaland directly contributed to 44 goals (36 goals, 8 assists) in the Premier League season just finished, an all-time 38-game record he now holds jointly alongside Thierry Henry (24 goals, 20 assists in 2002/03). Haaland is the first Golden Boot winner to win the title in the same season since Robin van Persie for Man Utd in 2013, and the 22-year-old Norwegian did it during his first campaign in England.
He’s got a treble in his sights now with just United and Inter standing in his and City’s way. With 52 goals under his belt already this term, 2 more trophies might just put Haaland at the head of the queue for the Ballon d’Or.
Devastating De Bruyne vs Fizzy Fernandes will call the tune
Kevin De Bruyne is the heart and soul of Manchester City and he’s proved it by producing yet another dazzling season peppered with assists. Since joining in 2015, KDB has conjured up 20+ assists (all competitions) in 4 separate campaigns. On top of all the assists, he continues to score BIG goals in BIG games when his team really needs him to do so, including home and away against Arsenal this season and the equaliser in the Champions League semi-final first leg at Real Madrid.
By his own exceptional standards that he’s set in England so far, 2022/23 hasn’t been Bruno Fernandes’ best in a United jersey, with 8 goals and 8 assists in 37 Premier League outings. He has scored in each of his last 2 matches, though, and will be eager to save his best for last against City. There’s no doubting his quality in the final third.
Fergie’s charges were the gold standard
Throwing it back to the previous millennium quickly, and the Man Utd class of 1999 completed an unprecedented treble against almost insurmountable odds. Even if you weren’t around then, you’ll know about it by now.
Ryan Giggs’ now iconic 109th-minute solo goal in the FA Cup semi-final replay against Arsenal came after Dennis Bergkamp had a penalty saved for the Gunners and United were reduced to 10 men after skipper Roy Keane was sent off in the 74th-minute. The Red Devils would go on to beat Newcastle in the final that year courtesy of goals from Teddy Sheringham and Paul Scholes.
In the Champions League final, just 4 days after their 2-0 win over the Magpies, United staged a stunning late comeback to beat Bayern Munich at Camp Nou. Sheringham and perennial super-sub Ole Gunnar Solskjær both struck in stoppage time to break Bavarian hearts. To further illustrate the enormity of this achievement, United were without influential suspended duo, skipper Keane and midfield maestro Scholes, against Bayern.
Is United’s treble of 1999 under threat?
Erik ten Hag, in his maiden campaign with the Red Devils, will want to dash Man City’s dreams of replicating that and carve out his own slice of history by collecting a domestic double. With United beating Newcastle in this season’s EFL Cup final, there’s a clear parallel to 1999.
The pure backs-to-the-wall nature of United’s treble all those years ago makes it pretty special. If City manage to collect their own treble this time around, how will it compare?
Guardiola is built for success
Pep Guardiola has now won 11 league titles in his last 14 seasons as a manager across stints with Barcelona, Bayern Munich and City. He’s also completed league title three-peats with each of those sides.
FA Cup has changed hands like a hot potato
The last 5 FA Cup finals were won by 5 different sides. If United win at Wembley, it’ll be 6 in 6.
Did you know?
Only 1 of the last 5 FA Cup finals saw both teams score
Latest team news
Guardiola wasn’t giving much away but said “we have 4 or 5 players with niggles, not BIG injuries, but they are injuries”. De Bruyne, Jack Grealish and Rúben Dias are understood to be among those being monitored.
United’s Brazilian winger Antony was spotted in a protective boot, but Ten Hag sounded hopeful that the ex-Ajax star might be fit for the match in a recent update. Raphaël Varane is also back to full fitness and expected to marshal their back 4. Ten Hag must choose between Anthony Martial and Garnacho in attack. If he goes with the latter, Marcus Rashford will likely play through the middle.
Likely XIs in the 190th Manchester Derby
Man City (3-2-4-1): Ederson; Walker, Dias, Aké; Stones, Rodri; Silva, De Bruyne, Gündoğan, Grealish; Haaland
Man Utd (4-2-3-1): De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Lindelöf, Shaw; Casemiro, Eriksen; Sancho, Fernandes, Garnacho; Rashford