This historic encounter will witness the first-ever major final between Manchester City and Manchester United, adding an extra layer of significance to the upcoming clash.
In FA Cup meetings with City, United has been triumphant in five out of their last six encounters, with their most recent victory being a thrilling 3-2 away win in January 2012. The only exception to this streak was a semi-final victory for Man City in the 2010-11 season.
Interestingly, this will be the third meeting between the two clubs at Wembley Stadium, with both previous encounters occurring in 2011. An FA Cup semi-final tie was won 1-0 by the Citizens, while a 3-2 victory in the Community Shield was claimed by the Red Devils.
City’s appearance in the FA Cup final will mark their 12th time participating in the prestigious competition. Of the previous eleven final appearances, six were won and five were lost. Notably, their recent final results have alternated between wins and losses, with a commanding 6-0 victory against Watford in 2019 being the most recent triumph.
United, on the other hand, will be contesting their 21st FA Cup Final, equaling Arsenal’s record for the most final appearances in the competition’s history.
Following their Premier League title win, City has the chance to achieve the league and FA Cup double for the second time in their history, replicating their success in the 2018-19 season. They will join the exclusive group of Arsenal (1992-93), Liverpool (2000-01 and 2021-22), Chelsea (2006-07), and Manchester City (2018-19) as the only clubs to achieve this remarkable feat.
Man City vs Man United In The FA Cup Final
Manchester United’s journey to the final has seen 3-1 victories achieved in each round from the third to the quarter-finals. The manager of Manchester United, Erik ten Hag, will become the fourth Dutch manager to take charge of a team in an FA Cup Final, following in the footsteps of Ruud Gullit (W1 L1), Guus Hiddink (W1), and Louis van Gaal (W1).
It is worth mentioning that Riyad Mahrez’s impressive performance in the semi-final saw him become the first Manchester City player to score a hat-trick at Wembley Stadium. To date, he has scored four goals at the iconic venue, with only Sergio Agüero surpassing him with six goals for the Citizens.
The League Cup final against Newcastle, both Marcus Rashford and Casemiro found the net for Manchester United.
In the League Cup final against Newcastle, both Marcus Rashford and Casemiro found the net for Manchester United. Joining an exclusive group, they became the fifth pair of players to score in both major domestic cup finals for the Red Devils, following in the footsteps of Norman Whiteside, Mark Hughes, Brian McClair, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Jesse Lingard.
This season, Erling Haaland has showcased his exceptional goal-scoring abilities, amassing a total of 52 goals in all competitions for Manchester City. If he manages to score in the FA Cup Final, he will become the first-ever Norwegian player to achieve this feat.
Among the Manchester City players, Kevin De Bruyne stands alone as the sole scorer from their resounding 6-0 FA Cup final victory over Watford in 2019 who is still part of the team. If De Bruyne finds the back of the net in this year’s final, he will join Bobby Johnstone (1955 and 1956) as the only players in City’s history to score in two different FA Cup Finals.
Since his FA Cup debut for Manchester City in 2019, Riyad Mahrez has been the top scorer in the competition, having found the net on eleven occasions. In the current season, he has already scored five goals, surpassing the record held by a City player in a single season since 1933-34 (Fred Tilson, 9 goals).