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Where to watch Manchester City vs. Watch Manchester United live stream: FA Cup TV channel, online, start time, odds

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1 month ago

May 24, 2024

Where to watch Manchester City vs. Watch Manchester United live stream: FA Cup TV channel, online, start time, odds

The FA Cup final may be between two neighboring clubs, but Manchester City and Manchester United go into Saturday’s season finale in dramatically different circumstances and the stakes differ for each of them.

A few short days later winning their fourth consecutive Premier League titlethe FA Cup feels more like the icing on the cake of another important season for City. The race may have gone down to the final day, but second-placed Arsenal were never going to challenge the sense of inevitability that comes with City’s wins, and that is no different ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup final. With a star-studded squad including Premier League player of the season Phil Foden and the unbeatable Rodri, they are the heavy favorites to lift the trophy for the second year in a row.

City’s sheer dominance means Saturday’s match will be an uphill battle for United, their old rivals. The Red Devils see a silver lining in a season full of dark clouds, including a Champions League group stage exit and an eighth-place finish in the Premier League. Their journey to Wembley Stadium wasn’t entirely covered in glory either: they almost exited the competition in the semi-finals, taking a 3-0 lead against Championship side Coventry City and needing a penalty shootout to progress. Saturday’s showcase not only offers the chance to briefly ignore this season’s shortcomings, but also the club’s only chance to qualify for European competition.

Here are three things to keep an eye on ahead of an FA Cup final full of intrigue.

Attacking forces

City have few weaknesses, but perhaps their greatest strength in recent weeks has been their remarkable ability to beat the opposition. Pep Guardiola’s side have been on a tear to end the season, outscoring their opponents 38 games to 9 in their last twelve games in all competitions. Erling Haaland won the golden boot again after a 27-goal season in the Premier League, while Foden’s 19-goal season earned him the FWA Premier League Player of the Year award for the first time, leaving them well-placed to capitalize on the United’s leaky backline. .

It is exactly the same category in which United also excel, although obviously to a lesser extent than City. A big reason why the Red Devils’ season has been incredibly chaotic is because they can score in big numbers, scoring 26 times in their last twelve games. However, they are a bit streaky: they were goalless in two of those games and the focal points of their attack, Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Hojlund, have been inconsistent this season. United come into this match on a two-match winning run, with Hojlund scoring twice in that period, so their top qualities could be the most obvious route to success on Saturday. That’s especially true when you consider that more often than not, City let in a goal.

Tactical determination

Goal-scoring ability is where the similarities end for City and United. There are many differences between the two teams on the pitch, but chief among them is that City are packed with world-class talent in every area of the pitch, allowing Guardiola to build a tactically solid side that will use his possession and passing-based plan at virtually all times. levels. every occasion.

City’s job, simply put, is to keep up the good work. Guardiola’s go-to style works against almost everyone, including United, who they beat 3-1 at home to 3-0 at Old Trafford in their Premier League matches this season. Success on Saturday will require not only a strong tactical setup from City, but also the ability to stay motivated despite the familiarity of the challenge. They were incredibly driven to follow up last season’s treble with another title win, something Guardiola seemed to admit would be difficult to maintain for another year – and is why the manager must keep in mind after the tough fought victory in the Premier League.

As for United, they may not have had success against City this season, but they have managed to keep a number of attack-minded teams at bay this season by leaning on a defensive approach. Given United’s defensive instability, this is a risky approach. Erik ten Hag’s side are conceding shots at an arguably exponential rate – look no further than their 0-0 draw against Liverpool in December, when goalkeeper Andre Onana conceded 34 shots. However, they have held out on a few occasions and the return of centre-back Lisandro Martinez could help.

The future of Ten Hag

Ten Hag may have bought an extra week on United’s payroll with Saturday’s FA Cup final, but let’s face it: even if he delivers a miraculous masterclass and the Red Devils lift the trophy, there’s probably no way for him to save his job. . The number of people linked to the role suggests that the team, now led by new minority investor Sir Jim Ratcliffe, is just waiting to cut ties with him, but the poor performance before that actually says more about his prospects than the rumors about staff. .

It almost begs the question: what could possibly motivate ten Hag to deliver the best possible performance on Saturday, with the odds against him and unemployment likely just a few hours away? The immediate answer is probably Ten Hag’s own delusion, which was fully manifested when it became clear that the end was near. To take just one example, he claimed their victory over Coventry was “no shame” and later described criticism of his team’s performance by members of the media as a “disgrace”. That version of ten Hag will likely emerge in some form during FA Cup weekend, whether anyone likes it or not.

But in all seriousness, Saturday’s match should not be about Ten Hag’s future at Old Trafford, but rather his prospects afterwards. The Red Devils’ chaos is likely to haunt Ten Hag for a while and it could well mean he misses out on a new job, despite the excessive number of high-profile vacancies in Europe this summer. If he can find a way to stop the bleeding on Saturday – be it through the performance or the actual result – it could be a reminder to many that he was once a promising manager. If he can also drop the act of pretending everything is fine, he might be able to remind potential bosses that he can be a professional manager too.