Manchester United seeks revenge for last season’s FA Cup final defeat to rivals Manchester City when the two teams clash on Saturday at Wembley Stadium.
After winning the league on the final day, Pep Guardiola’s men look to achieve a domestic double and beat Man United for the third time this season. Manchester United conceded inside 15 seconds as they lost 2-1 in the final a season ago, but Erik ten Hag’s side will hope to reverse their fortunes and lift the trophy in what could be his final match in charge.
Our FA Cup Final betting picks and Manchester City vs Manchester United predictions on Saturday, May 25 explain why the likely one-way traffic could see the favorites attempting plenty of set pieces.
For more analysis of this tilt, check out Sam Farley's FA Cup prop bets!
Man City vs Manchester United picks and predictions
My best bet:
Man City Over 7.5 corners (-112 at TonyBet)
My analysis
Manchester City haven’t been a side that takes a ton of corners in every match. In fact, they’ve taken five or fewer corners in 17 of their 38 Premier League matches this season, which is much more often than you’d expect given their possession and shot numbers.
But the FA Cup has been a different story, largely because of the way their opponents set up differently given the knockout nature of the competition. Combine that with how Manchester United have performed this season — including against their cross-town rivals — and you have a recipe for Manchester City to rack up corner kicks on Saturday.
In their two Premier League meetings this season, Manchester City took a pair of victories with three goals scored in each. But they also piled up set pieces, taking nine corners in the October match at Old Trafford before earning another 12 corners at the Etihad in March.
There are two key reasons for this. First is Manchester United’s problematic turnovers in midfield, which leads to plenty of shots in transition when they tried to play with their rivals. Secondly is the long stretches where the Red Devils tried to park the bus and simply survive.
This led to plenty of blocked shots, especially in the latest matchup. Manchester United took a shocking early lead and tried desperately to hold onto it, blocking eight of Man City’s 18 shots on the day.
That’s a tactic employed by many teams against the Citizens in this competition. Only once in this competition have they failed to attempt eight corners. That came in their 6-2 win against Luton Town as they earned only two but put six of their 17 shots into the back of the net.
In the other four FA Cup fixtures, they earned 44 corners combined. And many of those came against other “Big 6” clubs such as Chelsea and Tottenham, as well as a Newcastle side with plenty of talent.
Manchester United welcome back their first-choice partnership in central defense, with Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane partnering together just a few times this season. That means they should be better suited to keep Man City’s efforts out of the back of their goal, and it also means ten Hag will be more likely to allow his team to flood forward, opening opportunities for Man City to attack in space.
Manchester City took a whopping 12 corners before halftime the last time these sides faced off. I don’t know that they’ll get quite that many that fast, but eight for the match is a floor I see them easily clearing.
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Man City vs Manchester United same-game parlay (SGP)
Manchester City Over 7 corners
Phil Foden Over 3.5 shots
Andre Onana Over 4.5 saves
Andre Onana will be called upon time and again to keep Manchester United in this match, as he has been for months now. He came up with seven and five saves, respectively, over the two league fixtures this season and should get at least five here, as he’s made 4+ in four of his last five starts.
One of the people testing him will be Phil Foden, and I wouldn’t be shocked to see Onana fail at least once in that regard. Foden scored in both meetings and registered three goals in total, attempting a combined 13 shots across the two matches. He’s got nine goals and an assist in his last nine outings, and took six shots last week against West Ham while scoring twice.
Learn how to bet a same-game parlay with these helpful tips and strategies.
Man City vs Manchester United odds
 Man City |
 Manchester United |
|
|---|---|---|
| -304 | Moneyline | +780 |
| +480 | Draw | +480 |
| Over 3.5 (+114) | Total | Under 3.5 (-136) |
Odds courtesy of TonyBet.
Man City vs Manchester United side and Over/Under analysis
- At -300, Manchester City are odds-on favorites to win. The Red Devils are priced at +750, with a draw and extra time on offer at +475.
- Man United have their healthiest squad of the season, and it could be enough to keep them in the match a while. But Man City’s simply too talented, and Man United makes too many mistakes for me to risk money on them.
- The total of 3.5 sees the Under priced at -135, with the Over on offer at +110.
- There have been 3+ goals in each of the last six meetings between these teams, but only one of the last four has seen a fourth goal.
Man City vs Manchester United game info
| Location: | Wembley Stadium, London, England |
| Date: | Saturday, 5-25-2024 |
| Time: | 10:00 a.m. ET |
| TV: | ESPN+ |
| Weather: | Temp 73F, Sunny, POP 0%, wind 5-10 mph |
Man City vs Manchester United key injuries
Man City: Ederson GK (Out).
Manchester United: Tyrell Malacia D (Out), Luke Shaw D (Out), Harry Maguire D (Out).
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