Manchester United hope to upset Manchester City in the FA Cup final (Picture: Getty)
Gary Neville says he hopes Manchester City’s players are ‘still celebrating’ clinching the Premier League title, backing Manchester United to capitalise and win this weekend’s FA Cup final on penalties.
Though uncertainty hangs like a dark cloud over Erik ten Hag’s future, United know they can finish an otherwise disappointing campaign on a high by beating their bitter rivals on Saturday afternoon.
But the odds are stacked against the Red Devils in what is a repeat of last year’s final. Twelve months ago, Ilkay Gundogan netted after only 12 seconds before adding a second to inspire City to a 2-1 victory at Wembley.
United will take encouragement from their last two matches of the Premier League season, with Ten Hag’s men defeating Newcastle at Old Trafford before beating Brighton in convincing fashion on the road.
However, Newcastle pipped United to seventh place with a 4-2 win at Brentford on the final day, meaning the Red Devils must come out on top on Saturday to beat the Magpies to a spot in next year’s Europa League.
Previewing the FA Cup final on The Overlap, Neville revealed that he would not be attending the match after an unenjoyable experience at Wembley for the 2023 final, but predicted United would edge it via a penalty shootout.
‘I went last year and I didn’t enjoy it. It was hard work getting into the stadium, it was hard work getting out, back to the car park,’ the ex-England right-back a three-time FA Cup winner with United – said.
Gundogan inspired City to victory over United in last year’s showpiece (Picture: Getty)
‘I ran into a couple of City fans on the way out and I just thought, “Nah, I just want to watch it”.
‘The first thing I was thinking about and I hope it’s true… do you think City will have had a big night out on Sunday night, bladdered like?
‘Just a couple of days and it knocks you back a little bit. We did it 20 years ago. I’m hoping they’re still celebrating!’
Asked for his prediction ahead of the contest, Neville replied: ‘I’m going to go 1-1 and United to win on penalties.’
Neville and Keane disagreed with their predictions for the final (Picture: Getty)
Former United captain Roy Keane was far less optimistic over United’s chances, but urged Ten Hag’s players to maintain ‘belief’ that they could pull off an almighty upset against their noisy neighbours.
‘You’re [Neville] saying you’ll be hiding behind the sofa… that’s a sad state of affairs if you feel you can’t watch Man United in a cup final,’ Keane said.
‘Listen, there’s always that hope that they will turn up and produce some sort of performance or moments. I think they have moments.
‘I look at this City team over the last few weeks and I think Spurs did well against them, Spurs had chances. I look at the Nottingham Forest game.
‘I still look at this City team… are they favourites? Of course they are. But you still believe.
‘You have to go down, if you have any sort of belief in United, that they can turn up at Wembley and produce a performance, produce a few moments.’
It remains to be seen if Ten Hag still has a future as United’s head coach (Picture: Getty)
After a ‘shocking start’ in last year’s final, Keane hopes United at least give themselves a chance this time around.
‘The noises coming out of United last year, after they lost the final, they were almost patting themselves on the back for getting to the final. Cut that crap out!’ he added.
‘You have to turn up and put in a performance. Don’t be going down after 14 or 15 seconds, give yourself a bit of a chance.
‘It was a shocking start last year. The game was over after that and City just toyed with them. They took their eye off the ball a little bit and gave them a little encouragement.
‘But you still have to have belief if you are a Manchester United player. Are City stronger and better? Yeah, of course, but you still have to believe you can turn up in a cup final.’
Pressed for his score prediction, Keane responded: ‘2-1 or 3-1 to City. But I hope I’m proven wrong.’
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