Starting Point

Previous Results

• Manchester City are unbeaten since their 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa (A). In their last five games they have won all five, kept three clean sheets, conceded two goals and scored 18.

• Manchester United had a poor run of results by drawing to Burnley (H) 1-1, losing 4-0 to Crystal Place (A) and then losing 1-0 against Arsenal (H). But they finished the season with two wins after that against Newcastle (H) 3-2 and Brighton (A) 0-2.

Notable Injuries:

• Manchester City will be without Ederson in goal but Stefan Ortega would have started regardless as the designated cup keeper. Nathan Ake returned to the pitch against West Ham with a second half substitute appearance and they have no other injuries.

• Manchester United will be without Mason Mount, Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia for the FA Cup Final. Harry Maguire, Anthony Martial and Victor Lindelof are all being assessed with Harry Maguire the most likely of the three to be available.

Interesting Stats:

• Manchester United have conceded the 5th most shots on target against them (203) in the Premier League this season. Behind only Sheffield United, Burnley, West Ham and Luton Town. Despite that they have only conceded 58 goals, that’s less than Aston Villa, Newcastle and Tottenham have this season.

• Manchester United have conceded seven penalty kicks in the Premier League this season, only four other teams have conceded more.

• Manchester United have had the third most goal kicks in the Premier League this season but only launch 28.6% of them to an average length of 26 yards. Only Tottenham and Brighton launch goal kicks a smaller distance than that.

• Manchester United have conceded the most number of corners in the Premier League this season and the third most number of crosses allowed against them.

• Manchester United have conceded the third most SCAs (1,179) in the Premier League this season but their total of (99) GCAs against them is only bettered by six Premier League teams.

• No team has made more blocks (534) than Manchester United this season in the Premier League.

• Only Liverpool (100) has more off sides than Manchester United (91) in the PL this season.

Manchester City vs Manchester United Preview

FA CUP

Here we go, the last preview of the season for Manchester City and another game where the team can make history. The first English team to do back-to-back doubles.

This is how Manchester City lined up mostly during the title run-in with Mateo Kovacic playing a key role alongside Rodri in midfield. Gvardiol and Walker in their full-back roles. Foden and De Bruyne moving across central spaces.

But against West Ham Pep Guardiola made a change to bring in Jeremy Doku and it was the right move to make. Breaking down the low block back five they faced.

That is where our attention turns to on team selection, whether Guardiola goes for Jeremy Doku or Mateo Kovacic. There are good arguments for either with the control Kovacic brings as a partner to Rodri, helping to deal with teams pressing City high. West Ham didn’t do that but United may well go for it. At the Etihad Doku did start against United, performing well although City failed to take their chances in the first half.

Nathan Ake came off the bench in the second half, against West Ham, so he could be in contention for a start alongside or in place of Ruben Dias. John Stones has not started a match since the Chelsea FA Cup Semi Final. No confirmations on if he’s carrying any injury but he is another player you wonder about coming in for the final.

Outside of those two areas I do not see any changes to the starting eleven against United on Saturday afternoon. Julian Alvarez, Oscar Bobb, Matheus Nunes and Rico Lewis are all options off the bench in different situations just not very likely to start.

Dealing with cut backs and leaving space free on the edge of the box has been a struggle for Manchester United all season. Starting Doku to pull two players out wide towards him should help City open up the space centrally for De Bruyne and Foden to shoot. The second goal City scored against West Ham is the type of move Manchester United will struggle to stop, tracking runners into the box has been their achilles heel.

Manchester United

First of all, you will have noticed the lengthy amount of stats I included in the beginning about Manchester United and it should paint quite a clear picture. With how they’ve been set up this season, plenty of teams create chances and get shots off but not as many teams are able to get those shots through to the goal or score, as the data would imply. For United to win they will need that narrative to continue in the final, City struggling to convert any of their chances.

The other component of that win is scoring against City and with Bruno Fernandes back in the team that’s their chance. Second most passes into the penalty area (89), fourth most progressive passes (297), second most through balls (30) and most key passes (114) made in the Premier League. Whether it’s Hojlund, Rashford, Garnacho or Diallo, the chances for those players will come from Bruno Fernandes.

Here is how United lined up and their average positions against Brighton, playing very narrow in an almost 4-2-2-2 setup now Amrabat is the partner to Mainoo. Casemiro at CB.

With Rashford now back and able to start we could see United revert back to something more like this in the final.

Diallo has been excellent for them in the last couple games, very good close control and a winger that picks his moments well. Similar to what City fans would have noticed about Oscar Bobb the first time he played this season. Would be a miss for United to leave him out.

Last point to mention is the threat that United pose down the flank in Garnacho and Rashford. Dalot overlapping. The space left by Gvardiol and Walker pushing high at the wrong moments is something they will look to expose.

Final Predictions

I think City will go for the win early on against Manchester United, not allow them any time to settle into the game and be aggressive from minute one. That aside, I do not see it being a high scoring game, that instead City will score enough to make it comfortable.

Ones to Watch: 

• Manchester City: Phil Foden 

• Manchester United: Bruno Fernandes 

Predicted Lineup: Ortega, Walker, Dias, Akanji, Gvardiol, Rodri, Foden, De Bruyne, Bernardo, Doku, Haaland

Predicted Score: Manchester City 2 - 0 Manchester United

LAST WORD👋

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