Manchester City are easily the best team in England and there is a strong argument that they’re the best in the world. They turned it on when they needed to, down the stretch, to dispatch Arsenal and claim their fifth title in six years. While they do have some minor fitness concerns (including Jack Grealish and Kevin De Bruyne) ahead of the FA Cup Final, Pep Guardiola’s side are heavy favorites here.
It’s easy to understand why, given how unstoppable they can be at times; having won 17 of 22 league games in 2023 (including 12 straight across the home stretch)
Manchester Derby FA Cup Final FYIs
Kickoff: Sat. June 3, Wembley Stadium, London, UK
Team News: United City
Starting XI Predictions: United City
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
Fun Fact: this is the first ever Manchester derby FA Cup Final
Recent series history: United have won five of the last six meetings between these two rivals in the FA Cup competition
Man City Team News
Grealish was one of four players missing on Championship Sunday against Brentford, due to an unspecified issue, but he’s expected to be fit here. De Bruyne missed out due to being “mentally completely drained”, in Pep’s words, which is code for “he wanted a day off, he deserved it, and this match was dead rubber anyway”. So he should be good to go for the Cup final.
As for the remaining two players who missed out on the league finale, Manuel Akanji and Ruben Dias are both minor doubts here.
The latter missed training last week with an unspecified issue while the former faces a race against time to be ready, also due to an undisclosed problem.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now. Follow the website on Twitter and Instagram.