FA Cup Final: Man City vs Manchester United betting preview

With the Premier League campaign now over, there’s one massive English match left before the Champions League showpiece: The FA Cup final. This game will feature two historic clubs as reigning EPL champions Man City go to battle with their rivals, Manchester United. The kick-off is scheduled for 10 AM ET at Wembley Stadium in London. Below, we’ll preview the clash and also discuss any notable injuries.

Man City

What a season for Man City. Despite losing in the Champions League quarterfinals to Real Madrid, Pep Guardiola’s men managed to keep their composure when it came to the Premier League. They were in a fierce battle with Arsenal for the title but ultimately bested them for first place, winning the top flight for the fourth year in a row. City finished with a 28-7-3 record, bagging 96 goals and conceding just 34.

While Erling Haaland was the leading man with 27 goals and five assists, Phil Foden enjoyed a breakout campaign. The young Englishman netted 19 times and also set up another eight. He also scored twice in the FA Cup and will surely be in the starting XI on Saturday. Julian Alvarez bagged 11 goals as well, while Kevin De Bruyne was productive when healthy.

The Sky Blues took down Chelsea in the FA Cup semifinals and won this competition last season. They will be going for their eighth title on Saturday, which would be fifth-most behind the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, and United. This is the final game of 2023-24, so you better believe Pep will be rolling out his best, especially against a bitter rival. City is a big -305 favorite to win outright at BetVictor.

Manchester United

There’s no other way to put it. This season was a sheer disappointment for United. They ended up eighth in the table and the only way the club will get into Europa for 2024-25 is by beating Man City in the showpiece. Good luck. The Red Devils finished with more goals conceded (58) than goals scored (57) and struggled all term to find any consistency, especially in the final third.

Marcus Rashford, their No. 9, had a horrid campaign, scoring just seven times. Rasmus Hojlund showed well, but he didn’t have a lot of help. Bruno Fernandes’ 10 goals and eight assists led the squad. Manager Erik ten Hag will reportedly be let go this summer, which wouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. United had little success under the Dutchman, but it’s clear this is a job that no gaffer anywhere in Europe wants.

On a more positive note, Manchester finished the EPL season with back-to-back wins, beating Newcastle and Brighton. In the FA Cup, they’ve actually gone 6-0-4 against City, which is a good sign. However, United has lost six of the last seven meetings with their foes. As you can imagine, the Red Devils are an underdog at all soccer betting sites.

Injury news

Ederson is the only absentee for Man City, which means Stefan Ortega will start in between the sticks. It’s a different story for United, who will be without Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, and Tyrell Malacia. Victor Lindelof, Mason Mount, and Anthony Martial could all return for the final after missing some time through injury.