SATURDAY FA CUP FINAL: The Striker previews Saturday’s All-Manchester final at Wembley as City face United. Find out the recommended BETDAQ bet.
MANCHESTER CITY V MANCHESTER UNITED
3pm We have an FA Cup Final for the ages this Saturday on BETDAQ Betting Exchange as it’s a massive Manchester Derby at Wembley! Erik ten Hag gave a speech after the Premier League finished on Sunday at Old Trafford saying his side would be fully ready for this game, however they have a massive task ahead trying to stop Pep Guardiola’s City. With the Premier League title already in the bag and a Champions League Final next Saturday too City could end this season with a famous treble.
I know it would mean so much to the United fans to stop City winning the treble and keeping their 1999 record, however you have to ask what it means to be players. Do they care about something that happened over 20 years ago – they more than likely just want to win a trophy themselves. The fans drive the narrative though, and there’s a lot more on the line here than just the FA Cup! We should have a cracking game – City are unlikely to sit back as it’s just not in their nature and United will fight fire-with-fire if they go behind.
City come into the game as the hot favourites. They are trading 1.55 at the time of writing with United 6.6 and the draw is 4.9. Both times the sides met in the Premier League saw Over 2.5 goals collect, and if you fancy more goals here that’s trading 1.63. When City had home advantage we saw a nine goal 6-3 win for City! United were able to win 2-1 when they had home advantage, keeping City down to their lowest xG figure of the season at the time. That 0.67 actually remained City’s lowest xG figure in the Premier League this season – quite the achievement from the United midfield and defence considering City have averaged an xG of 2.3 domestically this season.
It’s quite obvious that City are the better side here; they are stronger in every area of the pitch but United do really up their game when they meet. It’s hard to make the argument that City should be massively shorter than 1.55 given what we saw in Old Trafford this season, and I feel the best option here is to avoid the match odds market. I just don’t see much value on offer, and betting is all about getting value. This Final is going to make history as it’s the first time the Manchester clubs have met in the FA Cup Final, and I feel we’ll see a reasonably cagey start. United will want to keep the game as tight as possible, but City will try to open it up – they know an open and attacking game will suit them.
I know we saw goals between the sides in the Premier League, but FA Cup Finals are usually cagey affairs. Erik ten Hag will know what went well at Old Trafford, and it’s hard to see United going with any other tactics. United finished the season very nicely with xG figures of 4.32 v Chelsea and 3.04 v Fulham, but prior to those games they had been struggling for goals. We saw Under 2.5 goals collect against Bournemouth, Wolves, West Ham, Brighton and Aston Villa. I feel the 2.36 offers some value on Unders here as I feel we’ll see a cagey Final – perhaps things will open up in the second half with City running out as winners, but Unders should be priced a little lower in my opinion. I’m not going to go crazy with the stakes here, as I said these sides fight fire-with-fire so if we get an early goal it could be a thriller but I don’t see ten Hag wanting an open game here. What a fixture to look forward too though!
The Striker Says:
Two points win Under 2.5 goals at 2.36 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/FACupF
