Manchester City and Manchester United will renew hostilities in the FA Cup final on Saturday afternoon.
Here are the latest match odds for Manchester City vs Manchester United odds.
Here are our best rated football betting sites in the UK:
Manchester City and Manchester United first locked horns in 1881, but these crosstown rivals have never met in an FA Cup final.
Until now.
The stakes could not be higher. The second-biggest domestic prize is on the line at Wembley Stadium this weekend.
Bragging rights are also up for grabs. One half of Manchester will be jubilant on Saturday evening; the other half, despondent. There is no result which would make both sets of supporters happy.
What’s more, Manchester City are targeting a treble of Premier League title, FA Cup and Champions League. Only one English team has achieved that feat before: Manchester United, in 1998/99.
A victory for City would put them within touching distance of equalling (and, some would say, bettering) an accomplishment that instantly went down in English football folklore.
Needless to say, United will be desperate to stop City in their tracks. The Red Devils will no doubt have the support of Inter, who will face Pep Guardiola’s side in the Champions League showpiece on June 10.
City thumped United 6-3 at the Etihad Stadium in October. Erik ten Hag will argue his side were still getting to grips with his methods at that point, and United won the reverse fixture 2-1 at Old Trafford.
Even the most ardent United fan would not contend that they are a superior side to City, who amassed 14 more points across the 38-game Premier League season.
But cup finals are a different beast and there will be nothing between the two teams at kick-off on Saturday.
1
Manchester City are two wins away from the treble and Manchester United will be desperate to stop them.
Given their excellent record in the Premier League and EFL Cup under Guardiola, it is a little surprising that Manchester City have lifted the FA Cup just once during his tenure.
In fact, they have won the tournament on only two occasions since the Abu Dhabi takeover in 2008.
City’s sole success under Guardiola came in style, as they demolished Watford 6-0 in the 2019 final.
A similar result against Manchester United would send the City fans into ecstasy, but this is likely to be a tighter encounter.
That thrashing of Watford was the only time in the last seven FA Cup finals that a team has been victorious by more than a one-goal margin.
In fact, of the last 18 finals only two have seen the winning team triumph by two clear goals or more.
It is also interesting to note that the scores have been level at half-time in each of the last three FA Cup finals.
Neither manager, you feel, would be too disappointed with going in at the break at 0-0 or 1-1.
In the end, though, City’s superior quality from back to front should make the difference. They have been in sensational form in recent months, beating the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid in various competitions.
Manchester United will find it tough to stop them at Wembley.
Casemiro has made a huge impact in his maiden season at Manchester United, both on and off the pitch.
He is arguably the team’s most influential player and Ten Hag will value his big-game experience this weekend.
His willingness to get stuck in is important, especially given City’s penchant for long passing carousels in the middle of the pitch.
But he does have a habit of picking up cards. Casemiro was the only Premier League player to be sent off twice in 2022/23, while he was also booked seven times.
The Brazilian was a substitute in United’s 6-3 loss at the Etihad, as Ten Hag gradually integrated him into the team.
He will surely play every minute of the FA Cup final, but do not expect him to avoid the referee’s attention.
Manchester City had few injury problems to contend with in the final few weeks of the Premier League season, but they no longer have a clean bill of health.
Manuel Akanji, Jack Grealish, Kevin De Bruyne and Ruben Dias all missed the 1-0 defeat by Brentford last weekend.
Guardiola hinted that each member of that quartet should be ready for Wembley, but there has been no confirmation at the time of writing.
Still, even if a couple of them miss out City will still be able to field a formidable starting XI against their local rivals.
Erling Haaland, for one, is fit and firing. This has been an extraordinary debut campaign for the Norway international, who heads into the weekend with a record of 52 goals in 51 games in all competitions.
Haaland can score every type of goal. A penalty-box predator, he also excels at running in behind and latching onto through-balls.
The striker is bound to get chances against a Manchester United team that conceded 33 goals in their 19 Premier League games away from Old Trafford.
Remember, he notched a hat-trick against Ten Hag’s team in that 6-3 victory in the first half of the campaign.
With Ilkay Gundogan, Riyad Mahrez, De Bruyne, Grealish and Bernardo Silva among the players who could be supplying the ammunition, it would not be a surprise to see Haaland score the first goal of the game.
Greg Lea
Greg Lea is a freelance football writer from London. He predominantly covers the Premier League and has had work published by the Guardian, FourFourTwo, ESPN and others.
Commercial content notice: Taking one of the bookmaker offers featured in this article may result in a payment to talkSPORT. 18+. T&Cs apply. Begambleaware.org
A responsible gambler is someone who:
For help with a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133 or go to www.gamstop.co.uk to be excluded from all UK-regulated gambling websites.
The Baltimore Orioles (94-56) and Houston Astros (84-67) meet Tuesday to continue a 3-game series. First pitch at Minute Maid Park is slated for 8:10 p.m. ET.
The Pittsburgh Pirates (70-80) open a 3-game series against the Chicago Cubs (78-72) on Tuesday at Wrigley Field. First pitch is scheduled for 7:40 p.m. ET. Le
In one of the marquee fixtures in the opening gameweek of the 2023/24 Champions League, PSG host Borussia Dortmund at the Parc des Princes. Here at
Horse racing tips today:For today's horse racing tips, our analyst James Boyle looks at the flat racing meetings at Newcastle and Redcar with three selecti
