The top level of English football concludes on May 25 with the FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium.
For the second season running, Manchester City face local rivals Manchester United in the title match. City won 2-1 a year ago thanks to two goals from Ilkay Gundogan as they took a pivotal step towards a famous treble.
While they will not be playing in this year’s UEFA Champions League final at Wembley, City can still claim a domestic double should they defeat the Red Devils, having secured a record fourth consecutive Premier League title last weekend.
Erik ten Hag’s job is under serious pressure after an awful league season for United, who finished eighth in the standings. This final is their last chance for some silverware for 2023/24, and to secure a place in European football next season. However, reports suggest the manager could well be leaving regardless of the result at Wembley.
Injuries have blighted Ten Hag’s squad throughout the campaign, but he will hope to have a handful of first-team players back for this clash with Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering team.
MORE: All-time head-to-head in the Manchester derby
FA Cup final team news: Man City vs. Man United lineups, starting 11
City’s only confirmed absentee is goalkeeper Ederson, who missed the final match of the season against West Ham due to a fractured eye socket that will also keep him out of Brazil’s Copa America squad. Stefan Ortega would likely have started in goal anyway as he is the usual keeper for domestic cup matches.
Guardiola decided to bring in Mateo Kovacic in place of Jeremy Doku, with John Stones and Nathan Ake at the heart of defence ahead of Ruben Dias and Manuel Akanji.
Man City starting lineup: (4-1-4-1, right to left): Ortega (GK) — Walker, Stones, Ake, Gvardiol — Rodri — Kovacic De Bruyne, Silva, Foden — Haaland.
Man City subs: Carson, Dias, Grealish, Doku, Alvarez, Akanji, Nunes, Bobb, Lewis.
Injured: Ederson.
Suspended: None
United’s long injury list is finally clearing but there were still plenty of question marks heading into this game.
Ten Hag confirmed on May 23 that Harry Maguire would not be available despite earlier hope that the centre-back would have recovered in time from a muscle injury. Luke Shaw is also not fit enough to be involved.
The Dutchman has his two favoured centre-backs in the starting XI as Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez start a game together for the first time since Wolverhampton Wanderers away in February.
It’s also another start for Sofyan Amrabat but there is no place for Casemiro in the squad, with the Brazilian having suffered a muscle problem ahead of the game. Marcus Rashford starts, and Rasmus Hojlund is again on the bench.
Man United starting lineup: (4-2-2-2, right to left): Onana (GK) — Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Martinez, Dalot — Mainoo, Amrabat — Garnacho, Rashford — McTominay, Fernandes.
Man United subs: Bayindir, Evans, Kambwala, Lindelof, Eriksen, Mount, Amad, Antony, Hojlund.
Injured: Maguire, Malacia, Shaw, Casemiro
Suspended: None
Man City vs. Man United live stream, TV channel
Here’s how to watch this FA Cup final match across selected areas of the world’s major regions:
| TV channel | Streaming | |
|---|---|---|
| USA | — | ESPN+ |
| Canada | Sportsnet | Sportsnet Now |
| UK | BBC1, ITV1, UTV, STV Scotland | BBC iPlayer, ITVX, STV Player |
| Australia | — | Paramount+ |
| India | Sony Ten 2, 3, 4 | JioTV, Sony LIV |
USA: This fixture can be streamed exclusively on ESPN+.
Canada: Viewers from Canada can watch and stream this game on Sportsnet and its respective streaming service.
UK: The match will broadcast on both BBC One and ITV 1, as well as UTV in Northern Ireland and STV in Scotland, and can be streamed on BBC iPlayer along with STV and ITVX.
Australia: Australian fans can catch the FA Cup final live and exclusive on Paramount+, which is also available through Prime Video.
India: The Sony Sports Network is the place to go for the FA Cup final while Jio TV is also providing a live stream option.
If the FA Cup final is not available to watch live in your location or if you’re traveling abroad, you can use a Virtual Private Network (VPN). VPNs offer a secure and private online connection, allowing you to bypass geographical restrictions to access your favourite streaming services from any device anywhere in the world.
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