**FA CUP FINAL PREVIEW AND EXCLUSIVE TIPS** The revered Wembley stadium will host one of the fiercest city rivalries in world football as Manchester City take on Manchester United in the 2023 FA Cup final on Saturday. Coincidentally, this will be the first time the two sides have met in the FA Cup final, and the stakes could not be higher. With City on course for a historic treble, it is up to Manchester United, the only English side to have won a treble, to stop them in their tracks while taking the opportunity to win themselves another trophy this season. Manchester United also have the extra motivation of winning their second Wembley final this season after lifting the Carabao cup earlier in the season with a 2-0 victory over Newcastle United.
**Season so far** During the league campaign, both sides faced each other twice in the English Premier League with the home side coming out victorious on both occasions; City won 6-3 at the Etihad, and Man Utd emerged 2-1 victors at Old Trafford after making a late comeback. As we all know, however, Final games are a different kettle of fish entirely. We have seen favourites falter and underdogs come out tops in one-off games by rising to the occasion with well-deployed tactics. With two experienced tacticians in Pep Guardiola and Erik Ten Haag in the dugout on Saturday afternoon, we will expect nothing less than a veritable footballing feast. **Head-to-head** Man City edged the last five meetings between both sides with 3 wins while Manchester United won the other two games- there is very little to separate the sides in that regard. The overall season numbers paint a better picture and there, City have been dominant in all metrics except clean sheets. [The Cityzens are favourites to win this one @ 1.52 for a reason.](https://m.betking.com/sports/match/5219263/manchester-city-manchester-united)
**Starting XIs** **Manchester United probable XI**: De Gea; Aaron Wan Bisakka, Rafael Varane, Victor Lindelöf, Luke Shaw; Casemiro, Christian Eriksen; Alejandro Garnacho, Bruno Fernandes, Jadon Sancho; Marcus Rashford. (**4-2-3-1**)
**Manchester City probable XI**: Ederson; Manuel Akanji, Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake; John Stones, Rodri; Bernado Silva, Ilkay Gundogan, Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish; Erling Haaland (**3-2-4-1**)
**Betting tips** **Man City to win to Nil** In what has been a fantastic season for Man City, Winning to nil has been their routine in the FA Cup. So far, they’ve played 5 times (Including games against 2 traditional top 6 opponents) and have conceded zero goals in the 2023 FA cup so far. When you consider how City have played against European giants like Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, It won’t be far-fetched to expect them to keep a clean sheet in the FA Cup final. It is also worth noting that Man United will have to field a makeshift defence in the absence of Lisandro Martinez who has been their best defender this season. **2nd Half Highest scoring Half** Going by recent history, Man United v Man City has been about one team (usually City) controlling the game and the other team looking to counter on the break. The latter team is United who have averaged only 34% possession in the last 5 games v Man City. This mismatch has made both sides extra cautious of going behind as it can be disastrous for their game plans. For instance, if United go behind, they will need to defend higher up the pitch and abandon their counter attack approach. If City go behind, however, they will need to commit even more bodies forward, making them extra susceptible to the United counter. What we expect is a cagey first half and a more open second half after the introduction of substitutes by both managers to adjust to the rhythm of the game. We predict that the game will see more goals in the second half just as in both league fixtures this season.
**Haaland to score at anytime.** Erling Haaland needs very little introduction. There are also no superlatives to describe him scoring 52 goals in his debut season in English Football. Having already scored a Hattrick v United this season, [Erling Haaland to score at any time, priced @1.64, is a no brainer.](https://m.betking.com/sports/match/5219263/manchester-city-manchester-united) As earlier stated, United will not be able to field their first-choice defence, which will be a problem against an absolutely dominant City side. Haaland will take the fact that he has failed to score in each of his last 4 games personally and will look to take his already absurd goalscoring record this season a step further, With Kevin de Bruyne, Jack Grealish, Bernado Silva and Ilkay Gundogan behind the Norwegian striker, we expect Haaland to feast on a steady stream of chances and eventually find the back of the net at least once. **Kevin de Bruyne to assist at least one goal**. The Belgian maestro has been one of the best players in the English Premier League and world football for several years consistently. With 16 assists to his name in the just-completed EPL season, he’s also going to be the best creator on the Wembley pitch on Saturday. With a striker of the calibre of Haaland at the end of the chances he’ll create, an assist is a near-certainty in the FA Cup final.
It’s almost time to watch two of the biggest clubs in the country slug it out again, and it promises to be fun, as usual. Fill up your bet slip with well-researched betting tips from our blog and and follow our regular match previews as well. In addition to the FA Cup final, you can bet on other online sports betting events with us this weekend. [Sign up](https://m.betking.com/account/registration) for the best odds on pre-match and live matches today!