Manchester United will take on rivals Manchester City in a huge FA Cup final clash at Wembley this Saturday, May 25.
The match will kick off at 3PM and will be available to watch live on BBC One and ITV1.
Pep Guardiola’s City will be looking to bring home the double after lifting a fourth consecutive Premier League title last weekend; they would be the first team in English football history to win back-to-back league and cup doubles.
Meanwhile, Erik Ten Hag’s side will be hoping to salvage what has been a poor season, in which they finished eighth in the Premier League table.
The game is not only significant for United as they will be hoping to secure a 13th FA Cup win in their history, but the game is also a final opportunity for the Reds to secure European football next season, as victory would seal a spot in the Europa League next season for United.
The teams meet in the FA Cup final for the second successive season after Manchester City won 2-1 against the same opponents in last season’s final.
A Bruno Fernandes penalty was cancelled out by an Ilkay Gundogan brace in the fixture, which saw City win their third of four trophies in a quadruple-winning season.
This year, United will be hoping to start the match on the front foot and avoid a repeat of their disastrous start to last season’s tie, as Gundogan put the Citizens ahead just 12 seconds into the game.
Guardiola’s team kicked off their FA Cup campaign strongly, with a dominant 5-0 win over Championship outfit Huddersfield Town, before an 88th-minute Nathan Ake winner against Spurs saw City progress into the fifth round.
A staggering five goals from star man Erling Haaland gave City a 6-2 win away to Luton in the fifth round before a Bernardo Silva brace against Newcastle saw City in the semi-final.
Silva was the hero once again in the semi-final against Chelsea, as his late winner booked City’s place in the final, where they will be fighting for an eighth FA Cup win.
United also kicked off their Cup campaign with a win against lower league opposition, with a 2-0 win over League One side Wigan Athletic in the third round.
The Reds then sealed a 4-2 victory over Newport County in the fourth round, before a late Casemiro goal saw United overcome Nottingham Forest at the City Ground in the fifth round.
The quarter-final was a game that will live long in the memory of every United fan, a thrilling 4-3 win over rivals Liverpool. Amad Diallo sealed the win in the 121st minute, in an end-to-end game that was full of twists and turns.
Despite an incredible quarter-final win, United struggled against Championship side Coventry City in the semi-final, scraping through on penalties after throwing away a 3-0 lead. The Reds will need a much-improved performance if they are going to stand a chance in the final.
Having convincingly won both of the league meetings between the sides this season, with a 3-0 win at Old Trafford and a 3-1 win at the Etihad, City go into this game as strong favourites.
However, with several key players returning from injury over the last couple of weeks, Ten Hag’s side will be hoping to pull off a shock win against their bitter rivals.
Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez have returned from injury for United in recent weeks, both featuring in the final game of the league season against Brighton last weekend.
United’s centre-back injury crisis saw Casemiro regularly start in defence in recent weeks, however, the return of two quality centre-backs, who were integral for United last season, will be a significant boost.
Victor Lindelöf, Anthony Martial and Mason Mount could all be available too, after being pictured training at Carrington this week.
Martial could be named in a matchday squad for the first time since December 9 and will be hoping for a fairy tale send-off as he looks set to depart the club this summer upon the expiry of his contract. Marcus Rashford will also be available after being omitted from England’s Euro squad earlier this week.
However, the final comes too soon for Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw who are unavailable through injury. Luke Shaw is a long-term absentee and will not be fit in time, while Maguire’s injury has “not healed as expected” according to Erik Ten Hag.
United go into the final on the back of wins in their final two league games of the season, against Brighton and Newcastle.
In both of these fixtures, Ten Hag deployed a 4-2-2-2 system, with Bruno Fernandes and Scott Mctominay operating as advanced midfielders, with Alejandro Garnacho and Amad Diallo on the wings and Rasmus Højlund and Marcus Rashford on the bench.
It will be interesting to see if Ten Hag sticks with this system which has brought success on Sunday, despite Højlund impressing off the bench and grabbing a goal last time out. Rashford is also likely to be fired up after his omission from the England squad.
City go into the fixture off the back of last weekend’s high of winning the Premier League title, with a 3-1 win over West Ham United, in which Phil Foden starred, netting a brace.
The Englishman is up to 27 goals in all competitions this season and is likely to be integral to any success City have on Sunday, having lit up the Premier League this season.
The Citizens have won seven consecutive fixtures and put up a tough challenge for United on Saturday.
It will certainly be an exciting cup final as two local rivals go head-to-head, but who do you think will come out on top?
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