The 1st Ever Manchester Derby FA Cup Final! Will blue or red hearts be broken?
Saturday June 03 – 16:00
Manchester City vs Manchester United
United were the dominant force in the English game till the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013. Manchester City were nothing but their noisy neighbours until Sheik Mansour purchased the club in 2008. Now the Manchester Derby ranks among the top derbies in world football.
Since Roberto Mancini guided them to their first Premier League title in 2012, the blue half of Manchester has been on the rise to dominance. Today, with Pep Guardiola at the helm and chasing a Treble, this Manchester derby is, arguably, the biggest.
In 1999, United reached the ‘Promised Land’ when they defeated Bayern Munich in the Champions League final – to complete the iconic treble. This time around, City are on the verge of doing that but need to overcome their crosstown rivals in the world’s oldest cup competition. If they can do that, all that stands in the way of their own Treble is Inter Milan in this season’s European finale.
Erik Ten Hag and his squad have already exceeded the expectations of many high-profile pundits. Their third-place finish in the league has secured their spot in Europe next season, they’ve brought silverware back to the club after winning the Carabao Cup and will have the chance of breaking City’s dream on Saturday.
United will be without key trio of Lisandro Martinez, Antony Martial, and Antony. Fred should start ahead of Christian Eriksen and alongside Casemiro, to provide that extra energy to disrupt City’s midfield – while Marcus Rashford will be the talisman to find the back of the net.
United could crush City’s dream but with the threat of Erling Haaland up front, City is expected to get the win within the 90. Guardiola has done everything apart from winning Europe’s coveted club trophy with City and this is his best opportunity to do so. He’s got all the trump cards and it’s no lie that his team are favourite to leave London with silverware. If they do that, they’re one step closer to reaching their dream.
This will be entertaining for the neutrals, and it looks like this could be City’s year.
