Manchester City vs Manchester United – FA Cup final, 3 June, Wembley Stadium, 16h00
It simply does not get better than a local derby in a cup final, particularly when the stakes are as high as they are in this case! Manchester City, a well-oiled and often seemingly unstoppable machine, will have the chance to go a step closer to winning a historic treble if they beat Manchester United in the FA Cup final on Saturday, while the Red Devils will be desperate to stop that from happening for several reasons. It's been a successful debut campaign for the 20-time English champions under Dutch tactician Erik ten Hag, who'll be hoping to become an even more popular figure around Old Trafford by preventing the club's fierce rivals from immortality by shutting out Pep Guardiola's attempts to equal the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson's achievements of 1998/99. Will that be possible, though? Or should United fans head into this weekend's clash with controlled expectations? Soccer Laduma's Kurt Buckerfield previews the fixture that will soon have us all on the edge of our seats!
From Noisy Neighbours To The Best In Manchester
Since arriving at the Etihad Stadium in 2016 following his three-year stint at Bayern Munich, Pep Guardiola has overseen one of the most dominant spells from a single team in English football history. Only the great teams Sir Alex Ferguson put together at different times of his trophy-laden 27-year reign as manager achieved more, but perhaps that's less about the Scotsman's ability as a coach than it is about longevity. Arsenal appeared destined to claim their first league title since 2004, but that wasn't to be as Guardiola managed to inspire a breath-taking run-in that saw his team pick up a remarkable 13 victories from 15 matches between 12 February and 21 May. The Gunners ultimately cracked under the pressure as Erling Haaland Co. inspired the Citizens to a fifth league triumph in six years, this after Manchester City had already cemented a place in the FA Cup and UEFA Champions League finals. The title was snatched right from under Mikel Arteta's nose, but a shadow has been cast over the champions' season, one that threatens to taint the trophy-winning legacy Guardiola has created in England. Earlier this year, the Premier League announced that the Citizens are under investigation for allegedly breaching 115 of the association's financial rules between 2009 and 2018. Guardiola, who joined the club two years prior, is expected to come out of the ruling, whenever that will be, unscathed though. The Spaniard is single-handedly responsible for what can be considered a masterful makeover of the English game, influencing managers all throughout the English pyramid to adopt his unique and daring playout- from-the-back philosophy. City will soon have the chance to become the second club in the country after Manchester United to win the big treble (Premier League, FA Cup, Champions League), a feat the Red Devils still proudly believe separates them from the rest.
A Good Season That Could Become A Great One
Hopelessness, dread and misery are just some of the unkinder emotions United supporters have experienced over the past decade since Ferguson called time on his impeccable coaching career. Heading into this season, particularly off the back of the disastrous 2021/22 campaign, fans plainly hoped for Dutch tactician Erik ten Hag to get the Red Devils back into the UEFA Champions League. Fast-forward just under a year, and United go into their final week of the season having finished third in the Premier League, ended a six-year wait for a trophy by winning the Carabao Cup and with a shot at a cup double. A team reborn, inconsistency and issues converting chances have still managed to plague United at times this season, but it is clear progress has been made, and that perhaps Ten Hag is far ahead of schedule in his quest to take the Red Devils back to the top of the English game. The 53-year-old has been relentless in his approach to reintroduce important values on the training ground, values the team seemed to move away from during Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's two-and-a-half- season spell on the sidelines. By all accounts, it has been a positive campaign, one that Ten Hag and his players will surely build on going forward. Beating City this weekend, however, could be the catalyst for something truly special.
Pep vs Ten Hag: Records In Finals
Although a year younger than his counterpart, whom he worked closely with in Germany when Ten Hag was in charge of Bayern Munich's reserve side, Guardiola has the kind of experience one might expect from a manager already thought of among the greatest of all time at just 52. The Barcelona native has overseen a staggering 29 finals in his career, winning 22 of them for clubs such as the Blaugrana, the Bavarians and City. Ten Hag, meanwhile, has taken charge of just nine finals in comparison, claiming victories five times while working for clubs such as Go Ahead Eagles, FC Utrecht, Ajax Amsterdam and the Red Devils. So far so good for Ten Hag in England after he helped guide United to a comfortable 2-0 victory over Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup final in February. Guardiola's last final with the Citizens came in the form of a 3-1 Community Shield loss to Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool at the start of the campaign.
The Advantage United May Have Over City
There are a few ways one could analyse City's fixture list and the pressure that closing in on a treble could potentially bring. The Premier League champions will undoubtedly be eager to clinch the FA Cup, particularly as the final will be played against their city rivals who appear to be making positive strides, but perhaps what could work in Ten Hag's favour is that City will be playing in a Champions League final in Turkey just seven days later. It could, therefore, be a crucial moment for the Red Devils to strike. The Dutchman, however, will know he can't bank on a lack of concentration from Guardiola's men this weekend as they have consistently shown throughout this season that, no matter which team is selected to take to the field, serious damage can be caused to any side believing City are vulnerable. Perhaps, though, United will feel they have an advantage as this is their last game of the season, the last time they're required to go out and give it everything they've got. The Red Devils might also feel motivated by their last performance against their neighbours, a 2-1 snatch-and-grab win in the Premier League at Old Trafford in January. In that match, Jack Grealish scored the opener in the 60th minute, before Bruno Fernandes and Rashford struck in the 78th and 82nd minutes to steal all three points. Only Liverpool and Chelsea (both eight) have handed Guardiola more defeats than United (seven), though, and while all of those aspects should breed confidence in the United dressing room, they will understand that, in a matter of moments, City could take the match away from them and spend the rest of the afternoon passing the ball around for fun.
