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- Manchester United v Manchester City
- Saturday, June 3, 2023, 10:00 ET
- At Wembley Stadium
Two old rivals face off at Wembley in the FA Cup Final but it is the red half of Manchester that looks like the best pick to win the game.
Who do Bettors Favor?
According to the best-rated online sportsbooks bettors heavily favor the Premier League champion Manchester City for this game. Pep Guardiola’s team is rated as a -200 chance to win the game, while the draw is rated as a +380 chance and Manchester United is the underdog at +450
| FA Cup Final |  |  |  |
| Manchester City | -185 | -207 | -200 |
| Draw | +360 | +380 | +360 |
| Manchester United | +445 | +510 | +450 |
City Continues to Dominate
Another season, another pretender to the crown, but Manchester City has continued to dominate English soccer. Usual rival Liverpool has fallen away but Arsenal has given City plenty to aim at, leading the Premier League for a long way before eventually being overtaken in the home stretch.
It is still possible for Manchester City to record the most prestigious treble in English soccer, as it faces a Champions League final against Internazionale a week after this game, but that match will be the main focus for a team and a club that has repeatedly fallen short of European glory.
In fact, City’s record in this trophy is not that impressive. It has only reached three FA Cup finals this century and has won only two, the last of those coming in 2019. It hasn’t had it easy this time however, taking on Arsenal, Chelsea and Championship winners Burnley to get to the final.
Progress at Old Trafford
With third place in the Premier League secured and one trophy already in the cabinet, this has been a season of progress at Manchester United after years of turmoil and disappointment.
Being knocked out of Europe was a disappointment, but the EFL Cup was a welcome piece of silverware, and Eric Ten Haag’s team now has the chance to win the more prestigious Cup competition.
United last won this tournament in 2016, although it finished as runner-up to Chelsea in 2019, and has won this tournament more times than any other club besides Arsenal. A win for United in this game would take it to 13 FA Cups overall, one behind the Gunners in the all-time standings.
Ten Haag’s team certainly goes into this game in top four. It signed off in the Premier League with a run of four wins in a row, beating Wolves, Bournemouth, Chelsea and Fulham, by an aggregate score of 9-2 and a chance to end the campaign with a Wembley win over its city rivals is ideal.
FA Cup Match Betting Head-to-Head
This is one of English soccer’s oldest rivalries, dating back to 1891 and this weekend’s Wembley clash will be the 190th meeting between Manchester City and Manchester United.
Although Manchester City has been the more successful club in recent years, the head-to-head record shows that Manchester United has had the better of this city rivalry. United has won 78 times, while City has a total of 58 wins and 53 games have been drawn.
In the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era, the teams have consistently traded wins in this fixture. That pattern was evident once again this season as City won the first Premier League meeting, 6-3, but United gained revenge in the return game, emerging as 2-1 winners at Old Trafford. The biggest FA Cup game to date between these teams came in the 2010/11 season when City won 1-0 in the semi-final, thanks to a goal by Yaya Toure.
FA Cup Match Betting Team News
Pep Guardiola has a tricky task ahead of him over the next two weeks as the club prepares for two big finals. The team news at the weekend was therefore not great as Kevin de Bruyne, Ruben Dias and Jack Grealish were all left out for the defeat against Brentford due to injury.
All three may be fit in time for this game but Guardiola will have to decide whether to risk them with the big Champions League clash coming up a week later.
For United, the main concern is winger Antony, who was stretchered off during Thursday’s win over Chelsea, although the club expects him to be fit for Saturday. Donny van de Beek, Lisandro Martinez, Marcel Sabitzer and Phil Jones are all unavailable.
FA Cup Match Betting Pick
Manchester City is rightly the favorite here, as even with its recent improvements, Manchester United is some way short of the Premier League champions in ability, consistency and winning experience.
Yet successful sports betting is about finding value not picking winners, and although City is the most likely winner, there are factors that point to the red half of Manchester being a good bet. United has matched City this season, sharing a game apiece in the Premier League, and has relatively recently won a trophy at Wembley. It also has no other game to focus on and its players can go all out here, while City obviously prioritizes the Champions League, so United looks like the value match betting pick here.
Best Online Sportsbooks to Bet on the FA Cup
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