Manchester City vs Manchester United (FA Cup Final): Match Preview, Team News, Head to Head, How to Watch

Manchester City look to once again defeat Manchester United in the FA Cup Final and become the first Premier League team to win consecutive doubles. 

After coasting to a 3-1 win against West Ham last week to secure their historic fourth consecutive Premier League title, Manchester City look to make history once again as they face Manchester United for the second consecutive year in the FA Cup Final.

The two sides faced off for the first time ever in the FA Cup Final last year, with Ilkay Gundogan breaking the record for the fastest goal scored, just 13-seconds into the match. 

After a sluggish start to the season, Pep Guardiola has turned his squad around and has his Manchester City side in top form. Other than failing to advance on penalties against Real Madrid, the Sky Blues last loss was back in December – a staggering 35 matches ago.

Manchester United meanwhile, have been a bit of a disaster. The Trafford-based club have conceded more goals than the infamous 2007/08 Derby County side, and finished eighth in the Premier League table this season, their lowest since 1990.

Saturday’s match will be the final in a long campaign that has already seen Manchester City win three trophies, as they hope to add a forth to their collection.

Match Details

Manchester City will take on Manchester United at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 24th May, kick-off is scheduled for 15:00 BST. 

Team News

Ederson is still ruled out for the final match of the season after having his eye socket fractured by Cristian Romero earlier this month. 

The Brazilian will be the lone player out due to fitness according to Pep Guardiola. However, no further updates were given to the status’ of Jack Grealish or John Stones, who have rarely featured for the past few weeks.

As for Manchester United, the biggest news is that Saturday’s FA Cup Final is expected to be the last for manager Erik ten Hag, after reports that the Dutch manager will be fired after his second season in charge.

Despite suffering significant injury issues all season, Manchester United are only missing three players for Saturday’s clash. Left-backs Tyrell Malacia and Luke Shaw are both sidelined with long-term injuries, while Harry Maguire is still unable to return from his muscular problem.

Head to Head

Manchester City have won both of their matches against United this season. The first was a 0-3 win at Old Trafford in late October, before a 3-1 comeback at the Etihad in early March.

The two sides faced off last year in the first ever Manchester Derby in the FA Cup final, with Manchester City winning 2-1. 

Erik ten Hag’s lone win against Manchester City was the controversial 2-1 win at Old Trafford last season, when Bruno Fernandes’ winner was incorrectly ruled a goal despite Marcus Rashford clearly interfering with play from an offside position. 

Statistics

• The Sky Blues have won seven of the past eight meetings against Manchester United, with an aggregate scoreline of 18-7.

• The last time Manchester City failed to score against Manchester Un tied was in March of 2021

• Phil Foden (87) has now scored two more goals for Manchester City than David Beckham (85) had for Manchester United despite Beckham playing 125 more games.

How to Watch

For fans in the United Kingdom, the match will be available on BBC One and ITV 1, with kick-off scheduled for 15:00 BST.

For American fans, the game will be on ESPN+ with kickoff scheduled for 10am EST.

City Xtra will also be live for the duration of the contest and available for all the pre-match and post-match discussion on YouTube in our live WatchAlong show, with full match commentary available on X/Twitter.