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Mark Ogden, Senior Writer, ESPN FC
History beckons between Manchester City and Manchester United. There are two ‘doubles’ on the line and even a ‘treble’ as the 189th Manchester derby plays in the 142nd FA Cup final.
Saturday’s clash at Wembley will see either Premier League champions City take a giant step towards achieving a treble of League, FA Cup and Champions League by adding a trophy to their Championship title, or United win their 13th FA Cup to complete a domestic cup double, after winning the Carabao Cup. beating Newcastle in February.
There is also the issue of the domestic rivalry, with City and United facing each other in a major final for the first time.
– Live stream: Man United vs Man City, Saturday, 9:40am ET, ESPN+
Despite their resurgence under manager Erik ten Hag, United went into the game as outsiders to win the trophy, despite beating City in their last meeting – a 2-1 Premier League win at Old Trafford in January – and having The upper hand in the match. Recent cup links. City are not only favorites to beat United, but also to emulate their arch-rivals’ 1999 success in achieving the Treble – the only English side to have managed so far.
So can United win, or can City go further than the treble? Here are the key elements in what is the most eagerly awaited FA Cup Final in living memory.
Is this really the FA Cup final ever?
If you remove club allegiance and take a dispassionate viewpoint – don’t expect Liverpool, Arsenal or Chelsea fans to be handed the FA Cup title – it’s hard to say which ex was so important and attracted such global attention. .
In the 1980s, English football was long dominated by Liverpool and Everton, staging the FA Cup final Merseyside derby in 1986 and 1989, both of which Liverpool won. The 1986 match saw Liverpool win to secure their first league and FA Cup double, with Everton finishing second in both competitions, but there was no goal-line hat-trick or the prospect of the other team making the double.
There have also been heavyweight encounters in recent years between United and Arsenal, as well as Liverpool and Chelsea, but this cup final really has it all.
United want to finish with two cups and win two domestic cups for the first time in the same season, but they also desperately want to prevent City from doing the treble. This is not just because domestic pride is at stake, but because the Treble is United’s unique achievement among English teams and they don’t want to share the distinction of doing it with anyone, least of all a City side.
On the other hand, City are desperate to beat United on their way to their treble. Doing the hat-trick would be satisfying enough, but getting United past the penultimate hurdle would make it even sweeter for manager Pep Guardiola and his players.
Man United have banned a club from taking the treble before, right?
Yes. In 1977, United faced Liverpool in the FA Cup final and stopped their traditional rivals from achieving the treble 22 years before they managed Ferguson’s side.
Liverpool had just been crowned league champions and would go on to win the club’s first European Cup by defeating Borussia Mönchengladbach in Rome four days after the FA Cup Final. But United’s 2-1 win at Wembley denied Liverpool the distinction of becoming the first English team to do the treble.
In 1985, United beat league champions Everton in the FA Cup Final to deny their opponents a treble of League, FA Cup and European Cup Winners’ Cup.
Where would he be among the surprises if United beat City?
This is a question rooted in the here and now in the sense that City have been Manchester’s top dogs for a decade. United have not finished top of the Premier League since last winning the title in 2013 and the number of trophies since then – ironically the year Sir Alex Ferguson retired is City 13 and United 4.
City’s recent dominance has turned the rivalry with United on its head – although United still lead the all-time record with 77 wins to City’s 58 – and they are favorites to win this final. Their form is superior: City have only lost once in their last 26 games, and that came in the final game of the league season at Brentford, with their first-choice players rested and the title already sealed.
Historically, United are the biggest and most successful club by some distance, so to suggest that it would come as a shock if they won on Saturday would seem like little in their lore and history. But there is no disputing that City are strong favourites, and a United victory would come as a huge shock.
Sunderland’s victory in the 1973 FA Cup Final against the great Leeds United is considered the biggest shock of them all as Sunderland was a Second Division team at the time. But West Ham (also from the Second Division) beating Arsenal in 1980, defending champions Liverpool losing to Wimbledon in 1988 and Wigan relegating to City in 2013 are also memorable surprises.
United beating City won’t beat any of those, but it will certainly be a big deal.
Why is City considered a strong candidate to win?
There are many threads in the story of the city, and many of them can be traced back to its being owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi.
Since Sheikh Mansour bought City in 2008, the club has transformed from a permanently failing team into the best team in the world. City have the best players – Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne – and the best coach in Guardiola, but while Sheikh Mansour’s financial strength makes all the difference, their period of dominance belongs to Guardiola.
City signed the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach in 2016 with the aim of turning the team into the best in England and Europe. With five of the last six Premier League titles, England have long dominated, while City are just one win away (against Inter Milan in this season’s Champions League final) from conquering Europe for the first time, too.
Guardiola’s intensity and attention to detail are renowned, but it’s his ability to constantly improve and reinvent players that marks him out as the best. Centre-back John Stones has been converted into a central midfielder this season, with young defender Rico Lewis relied upon to operate at right-back and defensive midfield, while Jack Grealish, Nathan Ake, Riyad Mahrez and Rodri have all taken their game to a new level.
No team works harder than Manchester City and this is testament to Guardiola’s ability to motivate a group of players who have already won almost everything in the game.
So, how can United beat City?
The good news for United is that they won 2-1 when the sides last met in the Premier League at Old Trafford in January. United also won five of their last FA Cup encounters with City. But when the heat heats up, City have taken down their biggest opponents since losing at Old Trafford. Liverpool (4-1), Arsenal (4-1), Bayern Munich (3-0) and Real Madrid (4-0) have all been dropped by Guardiola’s side recently, so United are up for quite a challenge.
United simply have to play the same organized and disciplined game they produced when they beat City in January. On that occasion, Ten Hag’s side cut Haaland’s supply line by disqualifying De Bruyne, but they also had their side with a controversial VAR decision, giving United a way back into the game after Grealish scored City’s opening goal.
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If United want to win, they have to repeat this performance and hope that strikers Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho can break through City’s backline and take advantage of the chances they get.
The absence of Lisandro Martinez with a broken metatarsal will affect United’s defence, but they beat City without the Argentina international in January so they must do it again.
It’s all about stopping Haaland, right?
not exactly. The City striker has scored 52 goals from 51 games in all competitions this season and is clearly United’s biggest threat. The former Borussia Dortmund striker scored a hat-trick in a 6-3 win over United last October, so he already has a taste for scoring in derbies. But City are much more than just their goals
A Mahrez hat-trick saw them beat Sheffield United 3-0 in the semi-finals. City have four other players who have contributed 10 or more goals in all competitions this season – Julian Alvarez, Phil Foden, Mahrez and De Bruyne – while Ilkay Gundogan scored nine goals from midfield.
This team can score from any area of the pitch and that’s the big problem for United. If they stop Haaland, that’s only one component of the job. There are plenty of other threats to deal with as well.
What else do we need to know?
This is the twelfth edition of the FA Cup Final, and they have a mixed record, winning six and losing five out of their previous 11. .
United will play in their 21st FA Cup final, a record shared with Arsenal, but no club has lost more than United’s eight defeats – an unenviable distinction shared by Chelsea and Everton.
If City beat United on Saturday without conceding a goal, they will become the first team since Bury in 1903 to go through the entire competition without conceding a goal. Preston North End, in 1889, is the only other team to achieve this.
City beat Chelsea, Arsenal, Bristol City, Burnley and Sheffield United en route to the final. United faced Everton, Reading, West Ham, Fulham and Brighton.
