In the following FA Cup final, Manchester United has the potential to derail the treble hopes of Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City players.
This weekend, City will go to Wembley with hopes of completing the second phase of their extraordinary quest to win the Premier League, Champions League, and FA Cup all in the same calendar year.
With three games remaining, Guardiola’s team won the Premier League for the sixth time in six years. This victory allowed the City manager to rest some of his key players and make any necessary tactical adjustments before the team’s next two crucial games.
The first all-Manchester FA Cup final featured fierce rivals City and United, and on June 10 the Champions League final between Inter Milan and City will be played in Istanbul.
United, who stand in the way of the team’s bid to duplicate their neighbors’ historic triple success in 1999, has been Guardiola’s only focus this week.
Erik Ten Hag’s team would dearly love to prevent City from getting any closer to duplicating United’s feat of winning all three major trophies in a single season, which is the only other English club to have accomplished.
The United treble winners needed an incredible comeback to defeat Bayern Munich in the Champions League final and only secured the title with a victory over Tottenham on the penultimate day of the regular season.
Those victories put everyone connected to Alex Ferguson’s club through their paces, and City may soon enter the most perilous phase of their quest for a treble.
Next Sunday, Inter, who are now third in a mediocre Serie A, will be the underdogs.
Guardiola is aware that Ten Hag’s team has the talent to hurt them if they are not performing at their best and that United should represent a greater threat.
Guardiola was present for United’s recent 4-1 thrashing of Chelsea, but the Spaniard is still troubled by the memory of City’s 2-1 loss at Old Trafford in January.
“At the moment, United is more of my attention. I watched their matchup with Chelsea. Guardiola added, “I was incredibly impressed, and I’ve started to examine a little bit what they did to us in the game at Old Trafford.
“We must exercise caution, just as in the past. I would exercise caution regardless, but after Thursday and their most recent games, we will do everything in our power to be ready.
The “Special Game”
Despite Guardiola’s caution, Abu Dhabi-backed City, who have won the FA Cup twice under the Spaniard, have established themselves as English football’s first dynasty since the Ferguson period at Manchester United.
City, who destroyed United 6-3 in October, went on an incredible run of 12 straight league victories to win the league for the third time in a row.
It was City’s first loss in 26 games across all competitions after last weekend’s 1-0 setback at Brentford, where they fielded a depleted squad.
After a successful debut season in England, Erling Haaland will undoubtedly be City’s star player.
The Norwegian striker has 52 goals overall, including a Premier League record 36 in a single season.
United is one of Haaland’s victims after he scored three goals against them in October, but Ten Hag devised a strategy to keep him scoreless in the rematch.
Ten Hag, who ended United’s six-year trophy drought with a League Cup triumph against Newcastle in February, had a great first season, and that was another noteworthy accomplishment.
With City’s victory at Wembley, Ten Hag would become just the second manager in United history to win a major title in his first season, underscoring the enormous progress made by the Dutchman.
Even without injured forward Anthony Martial, third-placed United in the Premier League is eager to derail City’s treble dreams.
We are aware that this is a special game and a significant final. Fighting to be in that position to win titles has been our goal for the entire year. United custodian David De Gea stated, “We will do everything in our power to try and win.