The third Manchester Derby of the season takes place at Wembley for the FA Cup Final. For the second consecutive year Manchester City will take on Manchester United – can United get their revenge, or will City secure the Premier League/FA Cup double? Jack Tobin provides his full betting preview for the match, complete with a best bet down the bottom. Good luck to everyone following!
2023-24 FA Cup Final Preview & Betting Tips
Manchester City vs Manchester United
Wembley Stadium, Sunday 26th May, 12:00am AEST
Road to the Final
Manchester City: 5-0 vs Huddersfield Town (3rd Round) 1-0 vs Tottenham (4th Round), 6-2 vs Luton Town (5th Round), 2-0 vs Newcastle (Quarter Final), 1-0 vs Chelsea (Semi Final
Manchester United: 2-0 vs Wigan (3rd Round), 4-2 vs Newport County (4th Round), 1-0 vs Nottingham Forest (5th Round), 4-3 A.E.T vs Liverpool (Quarter Final), 3-3 :4-2 on penalties vs Coventry City (Semi Final)
Match Prediction
Manchester City head into the FA Cup Final full of confidence after becoming the first team ever to win four consecutive Premier League titles on Monday morning. Pep Guardiola’s side will be gunning for back-to-back FA Cup’s to go alongside their four straight league titles.
Manchester United come into Sunday’s clash off the back of their worst ever Premier League season finishing eighth with a negative goal difference. Erik ten Hag’s future is unclear, with Roberto De Zerbi’s departure from Brighton only further adding to the uncertainty around the managerial position at the Red Devils.
United’s form on this cup run has been speculative at best, outside of their win against Liverpool in the Quarter Final. The only other Premier League side the Red Devils faced was 17th placed Nottingham Forest, and their last two games were decided after 90 minutes.
City have been much better in the Fa Cup this season, winning all five games inside of 90 minutes including victory over four Premier League opponents in Tottenham, Luton Town, Newcastle and Chelsea.
After an up and down start to the season Manchester City have been one of the hottest teams in Europe across the last six months. Since their 1-0 defeat against Aston Villa on the 6th of December, Man City have played 35 games across all competitions and recorded 29 wins, 5 draws and 1 loss. Their only defeat was a defeat on penalties against Real Madrid in the Champions League Quarter Final.
Manchester City have also had some of the strongest performers in the FA Cup this season, despite limited games. Kevin De Bruyne has recorded 5 assists from 4 games (ranked number 1), while Erling Haaland has 5 goals from 2 games (ranked equal 3rd). Manchester United only have one player ranked in the top twelve for either category.
Pep Guardiola has a much fitter squad to pick from with Ederson the only first choice player likely to miss with a fractured eye socket. Stefan Ortega has done a magnificent job since being subbed on against Tottenham, playing a crucial role in City winning their last two games to secure the league title.
United will likely be without Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, Mason Mount and Victor Lindelof. Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez played against Brighton but still looked underdone on return from injury, which leaves the Red Devils vulnerable against a red-hot City side.
Manchester City have had the wood over their crosstown rivals, winning six of the last seven Manchester Derbies across all competitions. Five of those six wins have come by margins of two or more goals, with the aggregate score of 21-8 across the six wins City have had.
City are in-form and full of confidence which is the complete opposite scenario that United are sitting in, Pep Guardiola’s side will win consecutive FA Cup Finals against their arch rivals in convincing fashion.
Manchester City -1
$1.83 (2 Units)
