Exciting battle of Manchester

Man City has dominated the English football field for nearly a decade. Having just had a great acceleration to finish the Premier League with the championship for the 3rd consecutive season, "The Citizens" can completely lift the FA Cup for the 7th time this weekend if they overcome their "arch-rival" Man United at the "holy land" Wembley.

Man City not only has striker Erling Haaland who is capable of threatening Man United's defense. (Photo: REUTERS)

If Man City's attacking power is number 1, Man United is even the weakest team in the "Big Six" in terms of scoring goals. David de Gea may win the "Golden Glove" title with a record of keeping 17 clean sheets all season, but Man United is still the team that concedes the most goals compared to the other 5 teams in the top group of the league. Of course, along with that, the "Red Devils" have the worst goal difference - while Man City is the most outstanding in this aspect.

The contrasting warm-up performances in the final round of the Premier League last weekend did not bring much meaning to both sides before the FA Cup final. Man City lost to Brentford in a match that was only a formality. Meanwhile, the Red Devils struggled to beat Fulham to find the final 3rd place, even though they had to pay the price of exhausting their key players, including Anthony Martial's injury which was more serious than expected.

Man City is rated much higher than its neighboring rival, but Man United's progress this season cannot be underestimated. Under the flexible guidance of Erik ten Hag, Man United is having the best version in the past 10 years, since Sir Alex Ferguson retired. Even coach Pep Guardiola had to admit that Man United is really formidable and Man City has had the best preparation before the reunion at Wembley on the night of June 3.

Coach Pep Guardiola's caution is not unnecessary, especially when looking back at the encounters between the two sides in recent seasons. Surely not many people believe that the two sides are actually evenly matched in the last 11 confrontations in all competitions, meaning each side won 5 matches and the remaining match ended in a draw.

Man City had a resounding 6-3 win over Man United at the beginning of the season when the "Red Devils" were still unstable in their playing style. Coach Pep Guardiola's students lost 1-2 again in early 2023 and that was one of the rare defeats that made Man City almost run out of breath when competing for the championship with Arsenal.

In other words, although being underestimated in many aspects compared to Man City in the battle on the night of June 3, but in a specific match, in the cup format to compete for the championship, Man United still has its own opportunity, the first of which is the usual restraint in derby matches, great battles between opponents who are too familiar with each other.

The depth of the squad is not comparable, the destructive power is not stronger, but Man United has the motivation to win the cup, not to mention the desire to compete with their "arch-rival", enough for them to confidently create a surprise. On a day of sublimation and best form, coach Erik ten Hag and his team can completely make the Premier League champions regret at the end of the 2022-2023 season.

Bruno Fernandes threatens to ruin Man City's goal of winning the "treble". Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola owns "heavy weapons" like Erling Haaland - Julian Alvarez and the launching pad for this striker pair is the "super-powerful" midfielder squad Kevin de Bruyne, Jack Grealish, Bernardo Silva, Ilkay Gundogan.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/the-thao/hap-dan-dai-chien-thanh-manchester-2023060221231938.htm