Manchester United’s unique place in English football’s rich history is under severe threat with their noisy neighbours flexing their muscles as they close in on a , and Treble of their own.
If City win at and then beat Inter Milan in Istanbul they will have matched United’s phenomenal 1999 success and the arguments will begin as to whether Sir Alex Ferguson or Pep Guardiola is the superior manager with the better side.
The red half of Manchester know they have the chance to make such discussions irrelevant by beating City in the FA Cup final. But they must also be quaking in their boots in fear of being on the wrong side of an absolute drubbing.
United faltered a little down the stretch but still won their last four games, including beating Chelsea and Fulham at Old Trafford in the last two games to nail down a return to Champions League football and finish third.
It’s also worth noting that after losing the first Manchester derby of the season 6-3 in October they then reclaimed the bragging rights with a 2-1 victory in January’s return at Old Trafford before winning the Carabao Cup.
But City have taken their game to a different level since then and are vastly superior in every department, as the likes of Arsenal and Real Madrid will testify.
Sure, the script is often torn up in hotly contested derbies but United hold little appeal even at an enormous 11/2 with Betfred.
Kevin De Bruyne can land us a few quid for the umpteenth time this season by breaking the deadlock at 9/1 with Sky Bet and the brilliant midfielder is 3/1 with William Hill to score at any time while bet365 price Marcus Rashford at 3/1 to supply some consolation.
Over 3.5 goals is 31/20 and City should be backed to win by -1 goal at 7/5 with Betfair and by -2 goals at 7/2 with the same firm.
A 3-1 win for Pep’s players is 11/1 with Hills while 4-1 is 20/1 with Coral.
• Westover, an unfortunate third in last year’s Derby before winning the Irish equivalent, and Emily Upjohn – beaten a short-head in the 2022 Oaks – will fight for the minor places as Charlie Appleby’s Hurricane Lane lands the Coronation Cup at Epsom. Jockey William Buick can secure victory at 7/2 with Betway.
• Jessica Pegula is 13/5 with bet365 to beat Elise Mertens 2-1 in their women’s singles second-round match at the French Open.
