Pep Guardiola confirms he will take major selection gamble in FA Cup final

0

Pep Guardiola is hoping to complete the second leg of the treble at Wembley in the FA Cup final

Pep Guardiola is hoping to complete the second leg of the treble at Wembley in the FA Cup final (Picture: Hayters TV)

Treble-chasing Manchester City could be close to full strength as they take on arch-rivals Manchester United in the FA Cup final on Saturday.

The champions have had fitness concerns in the build-up to the Wembley showpiece.

Jack Grealish, Kevin De Bruyne, Ruben Dias and Manuel Akanji all missed last weekend’s final Premier League game of the season at Brentford for a variety of reasons.

Training for the quartet was also curtailed as City opted not to take risks ahead of what is a momentous period in the club’s history with the Champions League final to follow next week.

Manager Pep Guardiola says the whole squad is now looking fit and healthy.

He said: ‘They’ve trained well in the last two training sessions. They are all of them, more or less, fine.’

One member of City’s first-choice XI who will not start, however, is goalkeeper Ederson.

26 April 2023 Manchester - Premier League - Manchester City v Arsenal - Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson mocks the Arsenal fans - Photo: Simon Stacpoole / Offside.

Ederson will sit out Saturday’s FA Cup final (Picture: Getty)

Back-up Stefan Ortega has featured in all domestic cup fixtures this season and, after also playing in two of the last three Premier League games, will be given the nod at Wembley.

‘Stefan is going to play,” said Guardiola of the German, who has not conceded a goal in the FA Cup this term.

‘I have always been like that in the FA Cup. The keeper who has played in the FA Cup is going to play in the FA Cup (final).’

Guardiola is preparing for a tough contest against a United side who will not be short of incentives at Wembley.

As well the usual cup final and derby motivations, United are also bidding to prevent City emulating their so far unique achievement of winning the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League in the same season.

City thrashed United 6-3 early in their manager Erik ten Hag’s reign back in October but Guardiola feels they are a considerably better side now.

He said: ‘A final is special for itself but what United have been doing in the last four, five, six months – they are a completely different team from the beginning of the season when we faced them here.

‘I have the feeling that the team has improved from the beginning of the season – the patterns are more clear and the quality they have.’


MORE : Paul Merson makes FA Cup final prediction as Manchester United face Manchester City at Wembley


MORE : Manchester United want to include Harry Maguire as part of offer to Chelsea for Mason Mount

For more stories like this, check our sport page.

Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on
FacebookTwitter and Instagram.

Stay connected with us on social media platform for instant update click here to join our  Twitter, & Facebook

We are now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@TechiUpdate) and stay updated with the latest Technology headlines.

For all the latest Football News Click Here 

Read original article here

Denial of responsibility! Rapidtelecast.com is an automatic aggregator around the global media. All the content are available free on Internet. We have just arranged it in one platform for educational purpose only. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, all materials to their authors. If you are the owner of the content and do not want us to publish your materials on our website, please contact us by email – [email protected]. The content will be deleted within 24 hours.
Leave a comment