2023 FA Cup final: United out to halt City’s treble bid
2023 FA Cup final: United out to halt City’s treble bid
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Rivals Manchester City and Manchester United clash at Wembley this weekend and we have picked out some of the 2023 FA Cup final betting odds as we look ahead to the big match.
Saturday’s match, which kicks off at 3pm and is live on BBC One and ITV, is the first time the city rivals have met in the FA Cup final so there is plenty at stake.
The treble
City head to Wembley hoping to complete the second leg of a glorious treble. The Premier League title is in the bag and the Champions League final against Inter Milan is still to come.
Adding spice to the occasion is the fact that United are the only other English club to have achieved this feat, back in 1999. Their fans would certainly love nothing more than to stop their neighbours emulating them.
The 2023 FA Cup final betting odds suggest City will take a big step towards the treble given they are 2/9 favourites to lift the trophy and 1/2 for victory in 90 minutes, with United 16/5 to deny them.
Champions League final influence
It will be interesting to see how much of a bearing the Champions League final has on City manager Pep Guardiola’s selection. The European competition is the one great prize that has eluded him during his trophy-filled time at City and is undoubtedly his priority.
He could opt to hold players back with that in mind. However, this is not his normal way and, with a week between the fixtures, there is time for rest and recovery. Guardiola will also need to keep his star players sharp and there can be few better games in which to do so than a Wembley final.
Ten Hag recovery
Erik ten Hag has lifted spirits at Old Trafford after a dreadful 2021-22 campaign in which they got through three managers. There have still been some bad defeats along the way – most notably 4-0 at Brentford, 6-3 at City and 7-0 at Liverpool – but the Dutchman has generally earned credit for the way he turned the team around.
He won the Carabao Cup and got them back into the Champions League. There was even talk of a title challenge at one stage as they hit form mid-season. United are still some way off where they aspire to be, but winning the FA Cup would cap a promising campaign.
Haaland chasing more headlines
Erling Haaland has written his name all over this season. The prolific Norwegian has had a sensational impact at City, scoring 52 goals in all competitions.
Dixie Dean’s near century-old all-time single-season record of 63 may be beyond him now but he will be hungry for more and to add a significant, competition-winning strike to his tally. He is not the only dangerman in the City side but he will be the one feared most by United.
Haaland is the 21/10 favourite to score first in the 2023 FA Cup final betting odds and just 8/15 to find the net at any time. He scored a hat-trick in the first Manchester derby of the season in October and is 9/1 to do so again or 17/10 to score more goals than United.
United options
United’s pursuit of Champions League football fuelled a strong finish to their Premier League campaign. With players also staking claims for cup final places, they secured third place with a run of four successive wins.
This has given Ten Hag the pleasant problem of deciding which players to leave out. The make-up of the attack could be particularly interesting with Marcus Rashford now fit after illness, Antony close to returning from injury and Alejandro Garnacho and Jadon Sancho having done their cases no harm in recent weeks, although Anthony Martial is ruled out.
Rashford scored the winner when the teams last met at Old Trafford in January and is 13/2 to again grab the last goal of the match and the same price to net in a United win.
The two league meetings this season have produced 12 goals and neutrals will hope for more of the same on Saturday.
Both teams to score is priced at 7/10 while adding over 2.5 goals and either team to win bumps the price up to 5/4. Both teams to score in the second half has paid out in both meetings this season and is 19/10.
