With the Premier League season over and a successful May under their belts, Manchester City start June with a trip to Wembley this weekend. The Blues are on the hunt to complete the second leg of what could be a historic treble. Standing in the way of Pep Guardiola's side are none other than Manchester United.
Erik Ten Hag's Reds chase their second domestic honour of the season and, of course, will be looking to throw a spanner in the works this Saturday, looking to remain the only English club to have won the treble. Kick-off at Wembley Stadium for the first-ever Manchester derby final takes place at 15:00 (BST) on Saturday 3rd of June, live on BBC One and ITV One in the United Kingdom.
Team News
Guardiola confirmed that Stefan Ortega will start on Saturday; the German goalkeeper has been an able deputy this season for the Blues. Ortega has impressed whenever called upon this season.
The Catalan did also confirm that he has a fully fit squad to pick from; the City manager made a few changes at Brentford and Brighton, confirming after the Brentford game that some players were suffering from niggles.
City will be looking to get back into rhythm and find their groove after underwhelming outings at Brighton and Brentford, respectively – however, with the game being a final and a Manchester derby, there's unlikely to be any lack of motivation or intensity.
Phil Foden recently spoke about growing up a City fan and dreaming of playing against Man United and how surreal it was to get a hattrick in October's derby. With strong performances in City's last three games, the dynamic winger will be hoping he's done enough to earn a start on Saturday.
Predicted XI:
Ortega; Walker, Stones, Dias, Ake; Rodri, Gundogan; De Bruyne, Bernardo, Haaland, Grealish
Opposition
Manchester United come into this FA Cup Final having sealed a top-four finish with a comprehensive win at home to Chelsea before finishing the season with a victory at home to Fulham to finish third.
Ten Hag's men already have two Wembley visits under their belt this season, beating Newcastle 2-0 to win the League Cup and Brighton on penalties in the FA Cup semi-finals to make it to the final.
Ten Hag confirmed that Antony is unlikely to be fit for tomorrow's game, while Anthony Martial and Lisandro Martinez are confirmed absences.
Head-to-Head
Played: 189
Won: 58
Drawn: 53
Lost: 78 City have won four of their last six games against United, including a 2-0 victory in the League Cup semi-final the last time the sides met in a cup competition.
The Blues were also victorious the last time the sides met at Wembley in the Fa Cup, with Yaya Toure scoring the only goal of the game in that iconic semi-final. The last time the sides faced each other in January in the Premier League, Jack Grealish gave City the lead before a controversial equaliser from Bruno Fernandes spurred United on to victory.
Guardiola's men will be hoping to avoid back-to-back defeats to United, something that's not happened since 2020.
Officials
Referee: Paul Tierney
Assistants: Neil Davies & Scott Ledger
Fourth Official: Peter Bankes
VAR: David Coote
Assistant VAR: Simon Long
Written by: @MakThatGuy
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