By Joshua Browne
Pep Guardiola has dismissed the suggestion Manchester City will easily overcome Manchester United in the FA Cup final on Saturday afternoon despite ending the season in superior form and considering recent history.
With a historic fourth successive Premier League title under their belt and having triumphed in the FA Cup final over United last year, City are enormous favourites to win the competition again this weekend.
The Red Devils ended the league season in eighth place, a whopping 31 points below City, with manager Erik ten Hag set to depart the managerial post at Old Trafford regardless of the result at Wembley.
Of the showdown, Guardiola said: "People think it's going to happen [Manchester City to win], people say it will be easy.
"I understand that but it's a different competition, it's one game. It can be 10 against 11, bad decisions can happen, mistakes, whatever - and you can lose.
"In long periods, we have been better than United these past years, it's obvious. It's facts - every game we are there.
"But in one game, anything can happen. The players know it and feel it. So I hope we are ready to play the last game of the season and to try to win the FA Cup."
City defeated West Ham United 3-1 at the Etihad last weekend to become the first club to be crowned champions of England for four consecutive terms.
Just two minutes were on the clock when Phil Foden sensationally opened the scoring before the Premier League Player of the Season grabbed a second for himself and City soon after.
Mohammed Kudus' fine finish late in the first half got some nerves jangling but Rodri's strike after the break ended any hope Arsenal supporters may have had that City would slip up on the final day of the season.
"I cannot deny that the mood in the offices is really high right now, it's really good," added Guardiola.
"I want the players to enjoy, I want them to celebrate the fact they won the Premier League. But we will have the butterflies [on Saturday], wondering what they will do and what we can do, the decisions to take and how the players will feel."
This article was originally published on 90min.com as Pep Guardiola explains why dominance over Man Utd means nothing in FA Cup final.
