Chris Sutton has shared his prediction for the upcoming FA Cup final between Manchester City and Manchester United.
After wrapping up their sixth Premier League title in seven years by beating West Ham United 3-1 last weekend, the Blues have now been preparing to take on Manchester United in the FA Cup final this weekend for their final game of the season.
At the back end of last season, in the penultimate match of their Treble-winning campaign, City beat the Red Devils 2-1 thanks to two goals from Ilkay Gundogan.
Looking ahead to this game, one pundit has shared his thoughts on how this latest final will go down and which Manchester side will come out victorious.
Sutton drops FA Cup final prediction
In his latest column for BBC Sport where he previewed and predicted the score for this weekend’s FA Cup final, Sutton had this to say about the upcoming meeting between the two Manchester clubs.
He said: “Look, United have a chance, a puncher’s chance, if City have an off day and they miss opportunities and if Andre Onana plays well – but the United players will have to raise their game to a level which we probably haven’t seen this season.
“In any given game, the question is do United have the players, the team and the set-up to compete with City? You would have to say that if they played each other 100 times, you would fancy City in probably 95 of them, if not more. That’s how much better they are.
“The only thing that could probably stop City is if they have carried on partying after winning the Premier League on Sunday. They seemed to have been hitting it quite hard.
“When they met in last year’s FA Cup final, City had the Champions League final to focus on as well. This time, this is their last game so City can give it their all – and then carry on celebrating.
“If City lose, it would be one of the biggest FA Cup shocks ever, and yet it is the mighty Manchester United who are trying to cause it.
“I know that sounds ridiculous, and you can call me an idiot if you like, I don’t mind but if you think about what City are like in these situations, it would be a huge shock, wouldn’t it?
“We know their mindset and we have seen how they keep winning when they are on the home straight in the Premier League title race. This is exactly the same.
“What makes it exciting is that it is a one-off game and a derby, because everyone talks about the magic of the FA Cup in scenarios like this but, when you strip everything back, the bottom line is that there can only be one winner.
“City 3-1.”
City are big favourites to beat United
Looking back to the semi-finals of this season’s competition, City beat Chelsea 1-0 just three days after getting knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid after extra time and penalties.
In comparison, United almost blew a 3-0 lead against Coventry City in their semi-final game, as the Championship side clawed their way back to a 3-3 scoreline, only to then lose on penalties to Erik ten Hag’s side.
Across the recent Premier League campaign, City beat United home and away, starting with a 3-0 win at Old Trafford, followed by a 3-1 victory at the Etihad Stadium.
With that all on board, it comes as no surprise that Sutton has backed Pep Guardiola’s side to continue their winning run and beat their Manchester rivals to yet another trophy.