THE 2023 FA Cup final between Manchester City and Manchester United takes place at Wembley on Saturday (15:00 BST) – the first all-Manchester final in the competition’s history.
A near 90,000 crowd is expected at Wembley despite more national train strikes leaving tens of thousands of fans having to make alternative plans to travel to London.
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Pep Guardiola’s City, who have already won the Premier League and face Inter Milan in the Champions League final on 10 June, need a victory to stay on course for a remarkable Treble.
But United, who have already defeated City this season, are looking to follow up their Carabao Cup triumph in February by completing a domestic cup double.
“We want to win a cup, it is not about stopping them,” said United’s Dutch boss Erik ten Hag.
“We have a great opportunity. Wembley is probably the best stadium in the world and to be there in the cup final is really exciting.”
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Guardiola said he will play second-choice keeper Stefan Ortega, who has started all five FA Cup games this season, over first-choice Ederson.
It is the first time in 12 years the FA Cup final has kicked-off at 15:00 BST – the previous occasion being Manchester City’s 1-0 win over Stoke City in 2011.
Last season’s final between Liverpool and Chelsea started at 16:45.
London’s Metropolitan Police has categorised the derby match as high risk and objected to a later kick-off time on security grounds.
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It is also the first time the FA Cup final, traditionally played in May, has taken place in June, as a result of fixture congestion caused by the World Cup in Qatar last November and December.
The showpiece is being played 70 days before the start of the 2023-24 Premier League season on Saturday, 12 August.
