Comments, odds and predictions for MU vs Man City, FA Cup final, 9:00 p.m. Saturday, June 3. The only two English teams to have won a domestic title this season and they deserve to be in the final match of the oldest tournament in the world.
 |
| MU vs Man City, FA Cup final. The first FA Cup final is the Manchester Derby. (Source: 90min) |
Ten Hag had a successful season when he won the Carabao Cup and especially brought MU back to the Champions League position. Of course, with his great ambition, he also wants to conquer the FA Cup. However, Man City is the "greatest challenge" in football today.
Manchester's most special derby
The FA Cup has a history spanning nearly 152 years. Manchester United have won the trophy 12 times, while Manchester City have won it six times. However, this is the first time the final has been an internal affair between the two biggest clubs in the city.
In the past, they rarely met in big matches like this. Part of the reason was because MU was a very strong force, while Man City had to struggle with many difficulties.
However, at this point, everything has changed. While the Red Devils are in the process of finding themselves again in the post-Sir Alex era, the blue team of Manchester is considered the strongest team in the world.
In the past 10 years, MU has not won any more Premier League titles, while Man City has dominated the tournament with 6 times holding the top position.
In the FA Cup, 12 years ago, a match perhaps marked the beginning of the transformation of the two teams. It was the semi-final of the 2010/2011 season.
Man City of David Silva, Yaya Toure defeated the red team 1-0 at Wembley, then reached the final and won the first title under the Arab owners.
Sir Alex himself at that time also began to clearly feel the growing threat from his neighbor. But perhaps he could not have imagined that up to now, the gap between the two teams is so clear, the blue color has been too overwhelming for many years now.
Man City confident of second title
Pep Guardiola's team certainly won't show any signs of "giving up" like in last year's FA Cup. Because this time is the best opportunity for them to conquer the great treble, something that only the only English team to do before was MU, in the 1998/1999 season.
Man City have completed the first hurdle, the Premier League, early. Their main players have had the necessary rest before facing opponents who are rated lower than them.
Home fans are putting their faith in Pep more than ever, because this season people are seeing the most complete version of Man City after the unfortunate failures of previous seasons.
By this point, Pep had stopped “thinking too much”. He had built the framework before entering the crucial stage, and was sticking to it, not inventing too much.
The 3-2-4-1 formation is an important solution, bringing a series of sweet fruits for the Spanish strategist.
With this arrangement, he can use all three of the best passers in midfield, Gundogan, Kevin De Bruyne and Bernado Silva, in positions close to the opponent's penalty area, thereby increasing the damage and threat to the opponent's defense.
Remember, in the past these 3 midfielders often had to rotate, or when using all 3, one had to drop back to play in the middle, limiting creativity.
 |
| In 2011, Man City defeated MU in the FA Cup semi-finals (Source: Dailymail) |
In addition, pushing John Stones to play as a defensive midfielder is a solution that deserves a 10. This helps take advantage of the English player's versatility, as he can defend well in the middle and cover the right wing when needed.
This approach helps Rodri a lot in the middle of the pitch, from which Pep is creating a defensive wall that is probably the best ever. Something that he was not appreciated before.
In 4 matches against two of Europe's top attacking teams, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, in the Champions League, Man City only conceded 2 goals. An impressive achievement.
With such high form and comprehensiveness as the current one, it is not surprising that many people believe in a high probability for Man City to win the upcoming two finals.
The only thing that has their fans worried is the recovery of some of their key players. Ruben Dias, Akanji, Kevin De Bruyne and Jack Grealish have all been absent recently, although there are no signs of serious injuries, but more time is needed to assess.
Erik Ten Hag has a headache solving a difficult problem
The Dutch tactician has done well in his first season at United, having to overcome the shock of an early season defeat, deal with the Ronaldo incident, and many other issues.
The Red Devils finished third in the Premier League, and advanced in every Cup competition, a huge improvement, especially compared to last year's dismal season.
However, MU cannot reach the position of Man City in such a short time. Ten Hag knows that very well, and this final is a very difficult challenge for him.
He has beaten Pep once this season. That was in mid-January. United came from behind to win 2-1 at Old Trafford.
However, at that time Man City had some internal turmoil, and certainly could not compare to their current version.
As for MU, after more than 4 months, they no longer have the service of Lisandro Martinez, their best defender. Rashford and Fred also do not have the explosive performance like in the middle of the season.
In return, Ten Hag still has his favorite midfield trio of Casemiro – Eriksen – Bruno. When they play together, MU often has good results.
Another point worth noting for the Red Devils is that Man City when playing away from home do not achieve the same high performance as at Etihad.
In May, they had 4 away matches, conceding 3 and winning only 1. This will help MU to be more confident.
However, MU also has to overcome weaknesses when leaving Old Trafford.
Most likely, the Red Devils will have to focus on playing low, and need to hold out for at least the first 15 minutes, a period of time that Pep repeatedly asked his players to take the lead against the opponent.
If the defense is well set up, it is entirely possible for MU to apply counter-attacks like in the above victory. Partly because, except for Walker, the other defenders of Man City are not highly rated for their speed.
Who will history call?
It's been a long time since an FA Cup final has attracted such attention, the organizers even did an unprecedented job of engraving the word Manchester on the trophy, with the main purpose of increasing the image coverage for this special Derby event.
Will the next word be United or City? It is clear that the blues are currently dominating in almost every aspect. But with the pride of the most successful team in England, MU will be determined to make the treble their own legacy.
Expected lineup MU (4-2-3-1): De Gea; Varane, Lindelof, Shaw, Wan Bissaka; Casemiro, Erkisen; Bruno, Fred, Sancho; Rashford. Man City (3-2-4-1): Ederson; Ake, Ruben Dias, Akanji; Rodri, Stones; Grealish, Gundogan, KDB, Silva; Haaland. Forecast: MU 1 – 2 Man City |
Source
Comment (0)