The 2023/24 FA Cup will be on the line when Manchester City and Manchester United clash in the final at Wembley on Saturday.
The 2023/24 season will end soon, with the action in England drawing to a close this weekend. The curtain call of the FA Cup beckons us on Saturday, with Manchester City and Manchester United locking horns in a second successive final.
Manchester City will head into Sunday’s clash after clinching a hard-fought Premier League title triumph last weekend. The Citizens have not been as imperious as last season but have still been the best English club. Meanwhile, they reached the FA Cup final after narrowly beating Chelsea in the semi-final, overcoming Huddersfield Town, Tottenham Hotspur, Luton Town, and Newcastle United in the previous rounds.
As for Manchester United, they nearly suffered an embarrassing defeat to Coventry City in the FA Cup semi-final. They overcame Wigan Athletic, Newport County, Nottingham Forest, and Liverpool in the previous rounds. However, they have endured a dreadful 2023/24 campaign, finishing eighth in the Premier League standings while bowing out early from the UEFA Champions League and the EFL Cup.
The two clashes between Manchester City and Manchester United have ended in heavy wins for the latter, clinching a 3-0 victory at Old Trafford and a 3-1 triumph at the Etihad. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Manchester City
Pep Guardiola does not have any new issues hampering his preparations ahead of the FA Cup final. Against Manchester United on Saturday, the Manchester City manager will be bereft of the services of only one first-team player.
Ederson Moraes is the only absentee, with the Brazilian international recovering from a fractured right eye socket. Stefan Ortega will deputise for Ederson between the sticks in the FA Cup final on Saturday.
Manchester City will line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of Ortega against Manchester United. The backline should feature Kyle Walker, Manuel Akanji, Ruben Dias, and Josko Gvardiol, with Nathan Ake missing out for the FA Cup holders.
As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Rodri and Mateo Kovacic in the double pivot, with the latter rising in stature in the last few weeks. Kevin De Bruyne will reprise his usual no. 10 role, with Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden providing support in the final third. Erling Haaland will lead the line for Manchester City on Saturday.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Ortega; Walker, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol; Kovacic, Rodri; Bernardo Silva, De Bruyne, Foden; Haaland
Manchester United
Unlike his counterpart in the Manchester City dugout, Erik ten Hag might greet some positive updates on the team news front ahead of the trip to Wembley for the FA Cup final. The Manchester United manager might still be without six first-team players on Saturday.
Victor Lindelof, Mason Mount, and Anthony Martial are close to returning to action this weekend. The trio will face late fitness tests to determine their availability. However, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, and Tyrell Malacia remain on the sidelines. Interestingly, Maguire and Shaw are in the provisional England squad for UEFA Euro 2024.
Manchester United will line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation against Manchester City, with Andre Onana taking his usual spot between the sticks. The backline will feature Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Raphael Varane, Lautaro Martinez, and Diogo Dalot.
As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Casemiro and Kobbie Mainoo in the double pivot. Bruno Fernandes will reprise his usual no. 10 role, with Marcus Rashford and Amad Diallo being the two wide attackers. Finally, Rasmus Hojlund should lead the line for Manchester United, with Alejandro Garnacho dropping to the bench after a few sub-par displays.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Onana; Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Martinez, Dalot; Casemiro, Mainoo; Amad Diallo, Bruno Fernandes, Rashford; Hojlund
Key Stats
- Saturday’s match is a repeat of last year’s FA Cup final, where Manchester City beat Manchester United 2-1. The clash is the second time in FA Cup history the same fixture will be played in the final in consecutive years, after Blackburn Rovers vs Queen’s Park in 1884 and 1885.
- Manchester United have won five of their last seven FA Cup games against Manchester City. However, both defeats in that run have come in games at Wembley (2011 semi-final, 2023 final).
- Manchester City won both Premier League meetings with Manchester United this season, beating the Red Devils 3-0 at Old Trafford and 3-1 at the Etihad. The last time they clinched three successive victories over their neighbours in the same campaign was in 1969/70.
- Manchester City can complete the league and FA Cup double for the third time, something only previously achieved by Manchester United (1993/94, 1995/96 and 1998/99) and Arsenal (1970/71, 1997/98 and 2001/02). They did so in 2018/19 and 2022/23 and can become the first team to do so in consecutive campaigns.
- Manchester United have lost 19 games and conceded 84 goals in all competitions this season. They last faced a defeat in 20 clashes in a campaign in 1973/74 (22) and most recently conceded more than 84 in 1963/64 (89).
- Phil Foden and Erling Haaland scored for Man City in both Premier League meetings with Manchester United this season; in Manchester derby history, only two players have ever scored in three separate meetings within the same season, with Dennis Viollet (1956/57) and Paul Scholes (2003/04) both doing so for the Red Devils.
Player to Watch
Bruno Fernandes
While Manchester City will be the odds-on favourite to win the FA Cup for the second successive season, Manchester United’s hopes will ride on Bruno Fernandes’s shoulders. The Portuguese international has been by far the best player for Manchester United in a dreadful 2023/24 campaign.
Meanwhile, Fernandes scored from the penalty spot for Manchester United in last season’s FA Cup final. He can become the fifth Manchester United player to find the back of the net in the showpiece in two different years, after Bryan Robson (1983 and 1990), Norman Whiteside (1983 and 1985), Mark Hughes (1990 and 1994) and Eric Cantona (1994 and 1996).
Another game-changing performance from the captain will go a long way in keeping Manchester United in the FA Cup final this weekend. So, Erik ten Hag and his charges will hope the 29-year-old rises to the occasion amid uncertainties surrounding his future.
Prediction
Manchester City 3-1 Manchester United
Manchester United had a legitimate chance of toppling the Manchester City juggernaut in the FA Cup final last year. However, things are drastically different this term, even though the Citizens have not been at a similar level either.
Nevertheless, the gulf between the two neighbours has widened, with Manchester United moving several steps back. While Bruno Fernandes and his teammates will produce a fighting performance, they do not have the cohesion to constantly trouble the newly-crowned Premier League champions.
Meanwhile, Phil Foden and Erling Haaland have been excellent, with the former arguably the best player in the Premier League. The duo should score again for Manchester City, guiding Pep Guardiola’s team to a 3-1 win over Manchester United in the FA Cup final.
