Manchester City vs Manchester United: FA Cup Final Odds

This is the first time a final has featured these two cross-town rivals. Then again, Manchester City are relatively new to success even though thev’ve been ferociously efficient at it for the past decade.

Our FA Cup odds have Pep Guardiola’s City as -238 favourites. Erik ten Hag’s United lag behind at +466. A draw – meaning at the end up 90 minutes of regulation time – is priced at +436. Naturally, the contest would go to extra-time and, if needed, penalties.

Manchester City vs Manchester United Betting Analysis

Even though this weekend marks the first game between the franchises in which a trophy is at stake, it’s no secret that the last number of years have seen this fixture grow in importance. United are the traditional Mancunian side but that hasn’t been the case much since the 2012 Premier League season when City’s onslaught commenced.

Players and managers have come and gone for both teams in the interim but it’s City who continue to have a stranglehold on English football, and a victory on Saturday, despite it being for the lesser of the three major trophies, would put them one step closer to accomplishing a treble. They’re already Premier League winners and a UEFA Champions League Final against Inter Milan in Istanbul awaits seven days later.

It should be noted that, while it was marred in a bit of controversy, United did get the better of City once this season. It was Old Trafford this past January when the Red Devils came back from a 1-0 deficit to claim all three points with a 2-1 win, only the winning goal may or may have not been offside. On the flip side, two previous City-United clashes ended in disaster for the latter: 6-3 and 4-1 defeats.

Manchester City

How much more poeticism can be waxed about this team? They let certain key figures leave (Gabriel Jesus, Zinchenko) and bring in a stud like Erling Haaland and simply keep on winning.

The most fearful aspect about them is that as the campaign trots along, they get better and better. It was January and February when some pundits had the gall to question if the club had it in them to perform as they had in previous seasons. Here we are a few months later and they’ve gone to batter and bully their main rival in the league Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid in the Champions League, and went on an 11-game winning streak to claim the domestic title. Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan, Jack Grealish, Julian Alvarez, newcomer Manuel Akanji, etc. The list of top-quality players is endless. They don’t even care if you score one goal. They’ll score four or five when they feel like it.

Manchester United

It is so tempting to argue that 2022-2023 can already be considered a success at Old Trafford under ten Hag’s guidance. He put an end to the Cristiano Ronaldo drama, helped the club win a trophy (the Carabao Cup) and they finished fourth in the Premier League, giving them a shot at Champions League football next season.

And still they know they can’t allow City to win. For one, the idea of losing a big trophy to them is unthinkable. Two, as stated previously, a defeat puts their rivals on the path toward a famous treble, something United accomplished in 1999. Goalkeeper David de Gea will have to be huge. He finished the domestic league with the most clean sheets, but struggled in big games down the stretch – his Europa League performance against Sevilla was risible. Marcus Rashford has also cooled off a little in recent weeks, but there’s no question he’s been the offensive spark United were lacking earlier in the year. This is the sort of game where former Real Madrid player Casemiro’s leadership will really be important. Look for Bruno Fernandes to be a key figure as well.

Prediction: Who Will Will Manchester City vs Manchester United?

There is no doubt that City have the talent and depth to win. No one is putting that up for dispute. But United ended the season very strong and this is an FA Cup final – out of all the ones the franchise has played – for which extra pride will be at stake. Bold prediction: United find a way and win.