Will the Sky Blues secure the double?

Manchester City made a somewhat inglorious exit from the Premier League with just one point from a possible six in the last English week. In the end, however, the ninth championship in the club’s history was on the record, which is now to be further enhanced not only with the FA Cup, but above all with the Champions League. In principle, the betting on the Sky Blues’ overall victory in Manchester City v Manchester United is also under a good star.

While the Citizens reached the final of the FA Cup with victories over Chelsea and Arsenal with a total of 17:0 goals, the Red Devils had to go to a penalty shootout against Brighton, which they won 7:6. On the other hand, the English record champions shone with four wins from their last four Premier League matches and presented themselves in good form in the run-up to the final. Nevertheless, the prediction for Manchester City against Manchester United clearly goes to the Sky Blues.

Pep Guardiola’s side, who have rotated through their squad and rested most of their regular players since the championship, have won three of the last four Manchester derbies, but suffered a 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford in their most recent encounter.

However, given that the Red Devils were dismantled 6-3 at the Etihad Stadium in the first leg, we think there is almost no alternative to betting on the favoured Sky Blues.

Manchester City – Statistics & current form

Manchester City continue to soar, but still await their first major European title since the 1970 European Cup Winners’ Cup triumph. However, before they face Inter Milan in the Champions League final a week later, they will be looking to improve on their recent league win with an overall FA Cup victory.

It would be the Sky Blues’ first domestic double since the 2018/19 season, when they also won the EFL Cup. Overall, the Citizens could lift the FA Cup for the seventh time in club history.

With five wins and 17-0 goals into the FA Cup final

At the same time, Pep Guardiola’s side didn’t have to worry about a thing on their way to the final. City won all five games in the FA Cup with ease and progressed to the final with five victories and 17:0 goals – even though they had to play against well-known opponents such as Chelsea (4:0) and Arsenal (1:0).

The odds are now also clearly in favour of the Sky Blues against Manchester United, who have won three of the last four Manchester derbies and even routed the Red Devils 6-3 at home to the Etihad Stadium in the 2022/23 season.

The best offence and defence in the Premier League

Lately, however, the Sky Blues have appeared somewhat sluggish in the wake of their brilliant 4-0 win over Real Madrid. Partly because Pep Guardiola rotated hard in the wake of the championship being mathematically determined, none of the last three league games against Chelsea (1-0), Brighton (1-1) and Brentfort (0-1) saw more than one goal of their own scored.

The fact that the Citizens once again ended the 2022/23 season with by far the best attacking record in the Premier League shows that this is not a factor in the FA Cup final. The newly-crowned national champions scored a total of 94 goals and, with only 33 conceded, can also offer the best defence.

Predicted line-up of Manchester City:
Ederson – Akanji – Dias – Walker – Rodri – Stones – Gündogan – De Bruyne – Grealish – Silva – Haaland

Manchester United – Statistics & current form

Manchester United are still the English record champions with 20 national titles, although it is now ten years since the Red Devils last lifted the championship trophy.

After a string of poor seasons in which they missed out on qualifying for the Champions League, Erik ten Hag was able to guide the team back into calm waters in his first season. Third in the table, United are certain to be back in the top flight for the 2023/24 season.

After the EFL Cup now also the FA Cup?

In addition, the EFL Cup has already been won under the Dutch coach. Manchester United defeated Newcastle United 2-0 at London’s Wembley Stadium at the end of February. Now, theoretically, the second title in Erik ten Hag’s era could be won in the FA Cup.

However, the Red Devils’ chances of winning the FA Cup as a whole are not too good, as they struggled for a long time in the semi-final against Brighton and only managed to make it to the final on penalties.

Only the seventh best offensive team in the Premier League

In the final spurt of the 2022/23 season, the English record champions nevertheless presented themselves once again from their best side. Manchester United won all of their last four Premier League games with 9:2 goals and finished eight points ahead of fifth place.

Only offensively will the Red Devils have to improve for the 2023/24 season. After all, the “only” 58 goals scored in 38 Premier League games correspond to only the seventh-best offensive performance in England’s top division. Among other things, United remained without a goal of their own in four of the last ten competitive matches. The fact that Wout Weghorst is now a question mark next to Anthony Martial does not make the task in the FA Cup final any easier.

Predicted line-up of Manchester United:
De Gea – Shaw – Lindelöf – Varane – Wan-Bissaka – Eriksen – Casemiro – Sancho – Fernandes – Antony – Rashford

Manchester City – Manchester United Direct Comparison / H2H Balance

Head to head: 58 – 53 – 78

The Manchester derby has taken place 189 times in total and Manchester United still lead the head-to-head comparison with 78 wins. The Red Devils also managed to beat their city rivals 2-1 at Old Trafford in the last meeting on 14 January 2023. However, the three duels before that all went to Manchester City.

Manchester City – Manchester United Tip

When it comes to Manchester City v Manchester United, the betting odds are heavily stacked in favour of the Sky Blues, who lost the last Manchester derby 2-1 but won three in a row against their city rivals before that. Momentum may be slightly on the side of the Red Devils, who have won their final four Premier League games of the season. However, City have been absolutely untouchable, especially in the FA Cup. The Sky Blues went into the final with five wins and 17-0 goals without conceding a single goal.

Our prediction for the Sky Blues to win the FA Cup for the seventh time in the club’s history is accordingly clear for Manchester City against Manchester United.