Manchester City -v- Manchester United
Emirates FA Cup
Wembley Stadium, London
Saturday 25 May 2024, KO 15:00 BST
Manchester United travel to Wembley on Saturday where they will take on Manchester City to contest the Emirates FA Cup. City won the Premier League last weekend so will be up for doing the double, after their treble last season. United want to end the season with a trophy.
Erik ten Hag could manage his final match for United if the reports in the media are true and he will leave United after the match. Having won the Carabao Cup last season, it seemed that United were on the trail to glory again, but this season has been abject, mainly because of injuries.
City will be a massive challenge for this United team, which has played with a depleted defence for the last few months with players returning in time for the pinnacle cup of English football this weekend. United will go into the match knowing that they can challenge City, despite their strength.
United – Form, Goals Scored & Assists
Brighton 2-0 W, Newcastle 3-2 W, Arsenal 1-0 L, Palace 4-0 L, Burnley 1-1 D, Sheffield 4-2 W
Goals: 16 – Rasmus Hojlund, 15 – Bruno Fernandes, 10 – Scott McTominay, 9 – Alejandro Garnacho, 8 – Marcus Rashford, 5 – Casemiro, 4 – Harry Maguire, Kobbie Mainoo, 3 – Antony, Diogo Dalot, 2 – Amad, Anthony Martial, 1 – Christian Eriksen, Victor Lindelof, Hannibal Mejbri, Mason Mount, Raphael Varane
Assists: 12 – Bruno Fernandes, 5 – Diogo Dalot, Alejandro Garnacho, Marcus Rashford, 3 – Casemiro, Christian Eriksen, Scott McTominay, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, 2 – Antony, Rasmus Hojlund, Harry Maguire, 1 – Amad, Jonny Evans, Omari Forson, Victor Lindelof, Kobbie Mainoo, Anthony Martial, Lisandro Martínez, Mason Mount, Facundo Pellistri, Luke Shaw
City – Form, Goals Scored & Assists
West Ham 3-1 W, Spurs 2-0 W, Fulham 4-0 W, Wolves 5-1 W, Forest 2-0 W, Brighton 4-0 W
Goals: 38 – Erling Haaland, 27 – Phil Foden, 19 – Julián Álvarez, 12 – Bernardo Silva, 9 – Rodri, 6 – Kevin De Bruyne, 5 – Jérémy Doku, Josko Gvardiol, 4 – Manuel Akanji, 3 – Nathan Aké, Jack Grealish, Mateo Kovacic, 2 – Oscar Bobb, Rico Lewis, 1 – Micah Hamilton, Cole Palmer, Kalvin Phillips, John Stones
Assists: 17 – Kevin De Bruyne, 13 – Julián Álvarez, 12 – Rodri, 11 – Phil Foden, 10 – Bernardo Silva, 9 – Jérémy Doku, 6 – Erling Haaland, 5 – Kyle Walker, 4 – Rico Lewis, Matheus Nunes, 3 – Jack Grealish, 2 – Nathan Aké, Josko Gvardiol, John Stones, 1 – Oscar Bobb, Rúben Dias, Sergio Gómez, Mateo Kovacic
Previous Meetings & Connections
United and City have met 10 times in the Emirates FA Cup. United have won six times, drawing no times and losing four times. United have scored 18 goals in these fixtures. City have scored 14 goals. The two teams last met in the Emirates FA Cup Final at the end of last season – City won 2-1.
United have kept two clean sheets against City, who have three clean sheets against United. United have the upper hand when you look at the history between these two teams in the FA Cup over the years – but City’s dominance in the present day is the main factor with United being the underdogs.
Billy Meredith, Denis Law, Brian Kidd, Terry Cooke, Peter Schmeichel, Andrew Cole, Carlos Tevez, Owen Hargreaves, Abbie McManus, Jane Ross, Aoife Mannion, Alex Greenwood, Charlie McNeill (academy) and Jadon Sancho have played for both teams in Manchester.
Team News
Manchester United: United’s injury crisis looks set to continue. Luke Shaw seems to still be out of action despite being called up for England this summer – at least in the provisional squad ahead of the Euro’s. United could be strengthened in the defence, which would be a major positive.
Ruled Out: Harry Maguire (other), Tyrell Malacia (knee) and Luke Shaw (thigh)
Suspended: None
Close to Returning: Victor Lindelof (thigh), Anthony Martial (groin/hip/pelvic) and Mason Mount (other)
Manchester City: City seem to be in good stead ahead of the Emirates FA Cup on Saturday missing one player due to injury. They will be strong enough to push for a double this season with the Premier League already in the bag – but it’s not a treble or a quadruple!
Ruled Out: Ederson (head/face)
Suspended: None
Close to Returning: None
Predicted United Starting XI – 4-2-3-1
Onana;
Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Martinez, Dalot;
Mainoo, Amrabat;
Amad, Fernandes, Garnacho;
Hojlund
Predicted City Starting XI – 4-1-4-1
Ortega;
Walker, Dias, Akanji, Gvardiol;
Rodri;
Silva, De Bruyne, Foden, Doku;
Haaland
Match Prediction
United will need to beat City if they are to play in Europe next season. It is possible to beat City in 90 minutes but United will find it tough. Players such as Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane could well be back in the starting XI, which could give United a good chance of achieving glory.
City will be up for retaining the FA Cup as they did with the Premier League title last weekend. It is likely that City will lift the FA Cup once again, but United should have some fight considering how they have played throughout the season. They have a leaky defence but the ability to score goals.
The liked of Rasmus Hojlund, Alejandro Garnacho, Bruno Fernandes, Amad and Kobbie Mainoo could be the players that guide United to victory in the final match of the English football season. Having United uplifted by winning the FA Cup would be something to build on next season – a new era!
Manchester City 1-2 Manchester United
Written by Paul
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