Man City vs Man United preview
After a whole season of happiness, heartbreak, highs, and lows, it all comes down to this, especially for Manchester United. It is the first-ever Manchester Derby in an FA Cup final and the stakes couldn’t be any higher. Manchester City are chasing the treble, which would put them alongside United as the only English club among the teams that have won the treble.
Manchester United will pull out all stops to prevent that from happening while aiming to plunder their second trophy of the season in their last game.
Manchester City’s FA Cup finals wins stands at six, while Manchester United’s FA Cup Finals record is more prestigious, winning it all 12 times. However, history counts for nothing and the current gap between the two teams is significant.
City are a well-oiled machine while United are an injury-stricken outfit who have squeezed every last drop of their potential this season. Erik ten Hag was confident in his speech to Old Trafford that the players will give their all and United will need a perfect performance to beat the Cityzens.
Here’s the FA Cup final preview, predictions, lineups, and more-
Man City vs Man Utd lineups
Man City predicted lineup
Can the lineup of a Guardiola team before a huge game against a rival really be predicted? While the answer to that will be in the negative most times, the Spaniard finally looks to have settled on a winning formula this year. More importantly, the mantra of “If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it” seems to be taken to heart by Pep.
Therefore, a majority of the team can be predicted quite easily.
Ederson will start in goal with Ruben Dias marshalling the defence. Partnering him should be Kyle Walker and Manuel Akanji. Kyle Walker should be crucial to City’s prospects as he will be up against the quick pairing of Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho down his side.
John Stones has been reinvented as a defensive midfielder, a role he should continue in alongside Rodri.
The attacking quartet of Bernardo Silva, Kevin de Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan, and Jack Grealish will likely be behind Erling Haaland. Guardiola will have the luxury of bringing reinforcements like Julian Alvarez, Riyad Mahrez, and Phil Foden off the bench.
Predicted Man City lineup: Ederson; Walker, Dias, Akanji, Stones; Rodri, Silva; De Bruyne, Gundogan, Grealish; Haaland
Man Utd predicted lineup
Erik ten Hag was getting Manchester United to settle into a secure lineup of their own before Anthony Martial’s injury threw a wrench into his plans.
Some reshuffling will be done in attack but the rest of the team has a settled look to it.
David de Gea will start in goal and hope for an error-free performance. Raphael Varane and Victor Lindelof have formed a strong pairing in Lisandro Martinez’s absence and will continue here. That means Harry Maguire won’t start in what could be his final game for the club. Luke Shaw and Aaron Wan-Bissaka are the first-choice fullbacks.
The midfield picks itself, with the successful trio of Casemiro, Bruno Fernandes, and Christian Eriksen losing just one game all season whenever they have started together.
United received a blow in the attack when Erik ten Hag confirmed Antony hasn’t made enough progress and is unlikely to be available for this game. That means Bruno Fernandes could start on the right and Fred comes in as the ball-winner and provide extra security in midfield. Marcus Rashford should start in the middle as Wout Weghorst’s quality as a starter is questionable. Martial’s absence will affect Sancho as well, who will have to leave his spot on the right wing and play on the left in this one.
Predicted Man Utd lineup: De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Lindelof, Shaw; Casemiro, Eriksen; Fred, Fernandes, Sancho; Rashford
Man City vs Man Utd predictions
It is no secret that Manchester United are huge underdogs for this game. Despite coming off a loss to Brentford in the Premier League, City are certain to bring their A-game to their final two fixtures of the season- both finals.
Keeping Haaland quiet will be a challenge and in a tale of two No 9s, Martial’s absence will affect United. Although the French striker hasn’t been particularly prolific, his presence makes the team play better.
Expect United to give a good account of themselves by playing a great game but ultimately falling to a superior City side who have been under Guardiola for longer, and have more depth and individual quality.
FootTheBall predicts: Manchester City 3-1 Manchester United
