The FA Cup Final Derby: Everything You Need to Know About City vs. United

This year’s FA Cup Final will be a rerun of last year’s event, as the two Manchester Clubs will come up against each other at Wembley for the second time in a row.

Manchester City sealed their place in the final by defeating Chelsea 1-0 through a goal by Bernardo Silva. Manchester United had to survive a tense encounter with Coventry City, as they saw their tie go to a penalty shootout despite being 3-0 up and almost losing the game in the dying moments but for the intervention of VAR.

The last edition of the FA Cup Final ended with a win for the Cityzens, as Pep Guardiola’s side took a further step in completing a historic Treble that season. A goal in each half from Ilkay Gundogan – including the fastest-ever goal in an FA Cup Final after just 12 seconds – either side of Bruno Fernandes’ own first-half strike was enough to lift the title.

Of course, the German midfielder is no longer with the blue half of Manchester, but could we see a similar result happen on May 25 when the two teams meet again?

Manchester City considered strong favorites

With a lot of football still to be played between now and the Final, plenty could happen. City are still in a race for the Premier League title, and it will be interesting to see what happens in their pursuit, with Arsenal and Liverpool also still in the running.

They don’t have any other footballing commitments, though, as they were knocked out on penalties by Real Madrid as they looked to defend their Champions League crown. However, they showed that they could get back to winning ways and put it behind them quickly after dispatching Chelsea in their FA Cup Semifinal.

Given the quality on the pitch and how things have been going, it’s no real surprise that they have been made the betting favorite to retain their title. According to Unibet’s sports betting Belgium site, City are heavily favored as they have odds of 1.57 as early as a month before the game takes place. In contrast, United have a price of 6.50, with the odds suggesting the game is more likely to require extra-time and/or penalties with a draw in normal time priced at 3.60.

Indeed, it’s no surprise that Erik ten Hag’s appear to have been discounted by the bookies and fans. The Red Devils have been very inconsistent this season, leaving questions over what might happen in the summer. The level of performance against Coventry City in the previous round will have concerned many, too, especially as they go ahead of their Manchester rivals.

Anything can happen in football, but with how dominant City are and never quite knowing which United will turn up or how they will play, there aren’t many that will be confidently predicting that the red half will be getting their ribbons on the FA Cup.

Crucial Manchester Derby Stats

While the grandeur of the event and the prestige of the spectacle can often make the FA Cup Final a game in which the rulebook and form guide go out the window, the added dimension of the game being a derby contest certainly adds to the anticipation and excitement of this season-ender.

In terms of the Manchester Derby, it can be worth looking at the statistics that have been created. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Red Devils still have the lead in terms of overall statistics, but the gap has been closing rapidly in the last decade or so as the Cityzens continue to showcase their dominance in world football.

Interestingly, the 2024 FA Cup Final will be the 11th meeting between the two Clubs in this competition. Manchester United has won six of the 10 that have been played thus far, with City having won the other four—including last year’s final. United has 19 goals, whereas City has scored 14. In terms of this year’s FA Cup campaign, City has scored 15 goals and conceded just twice in the five games. United has scored 14 goals but conceded eight.

It’ll be interesting to see what happens when the two teams make the trip to London and return to Wembley, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if most were expecting to see a win for the team in blue…