Manchester City supervisor Pep Guardiola, talking to BBC One: “We have spoken about what we have to do to try and win the game. It’s two teams from the same city and that makes it very nice for the first time in the history of the FA Cup.

“I’m not thinking about next Saturday, it’s just about today and then we see what happens.

“It’s the FA Cup final, it’s so attractive. The players could be thinking about the Champions League if we were in the Premier League and had already won the title but this is the FA Cup final.”

There have been already too many echoes of 1999 for Manchester United’s liking. Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City might emulate Sir Alex Ferguson’s immortals, the one team to do the treble of the Premier League, the FA Cup and the Champions League. Yet that aspect reached the final recreation of a marathon season famously depleted, with Roy Keane and Paul Scholes suspended for the date with Bayern Munich on the Nou Camp.

Now United head to Wembley for the 62^nd and final match of their season virtually actually with out two of their first-choice entrance three. Anthony Martial is unquestionably out, Antony virtually actually. “He has a very small chance,” stated Erik ten Hag, who had been extra upbeat about his greatest purchase’s health a couple of days earlier. Lisandro Martinez, his different signing from his former membership is already sidelined: Ten Hag marked the Carabao Cup final victory over Newcastle by dancing on the Wembley pitch together with his Ajax allies, and the 2 South Americans appeared extra pure movers, however presumably there might be no repeat this weekend.

Erling Haaland says a historic treble with Manchester City could be his “biggest dream” and hopes to fulfil his objective and assist ship the Champions League.

Pep Guardiola’s aspect have gained their fifth Premier League title in six seasons and play Manchester United in Saturday’s FA Cup final earlier than dealing with Inter Milan within the Champions League final on 10 June.

United are the one English membership to have accomplished the treble, beneath Sir Alex Ferguson in 1999, and whereas Guardiola’s City have dominated the home scene, they’ve but to be topped champions of Europe.

Haaland advised BBC Sport: “It would be unreal to make this history. This is why they bought me of course, to get this, we don’t have to hide that.

“It would mean everything. I will do everything I possibly can to try to make it happen. It’s my biggest dream and hopefully dreams do come true.”

But the 22-year-old Norway striker warned each United and Inter might be “motivated” to “destroy” City’s treble probabilities.

“But as well it’s not easy,” Haaland stated. “It’s two finals against two good teams that will do everything they can to try to destroy that.”

The rival Manchester United and Manchester City followers heading to Wembley for immediately’s final have been urged to make use of separate routes and motorway service stations to assist minimise disruption.

Major congestion is feared with one other practice strike deliberate and woeful rail operator Avanti West Coast working a decreased timetable on Friday and no providers on Saturday.

Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has suggested City supporters to journey by way of the M62 and M1; M6 and M1; or M6, M6 Toll and M1.

United followers are urged to journey on the M6, M42 and M40, which is a near-identical distance of about 200 miles (320 km).

Pep Guardiola makes 10 modifications to the Manchester City team that began the final Premier League recreation of the season final weekend. Only Kyle Walker retains his place because the likes of Ilkay Gundogan, Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland all return.

Stefan Ortega begins in purpose.

Erik ten Hag in the meantime makes 4 modifications to the Manchester United aspect that defeated Fulham 2-1 final day trip. Raphael Varane, Luke Shaw and Aaron Wan-Bissaka slot into defence forward of Harry Maguire, Tyrell Malacia and Diogo Dalot.

Christian Eriksen replaces Alejandro Garnacho in midfield.

Man City XI: Ortega; Walker, Stones, Dias, Akanji; Rodri, De Bruyne, Gundogan; Bernardo, Grealish, Haaland

Man Utd XI: De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Lindelof, Shaw; Fred, Casemiro, Eriksen; Sancho, Rashford, Fernandes

When Manchester City gained the Premier League, Erik ten Hag was not one of many first on the telephone to Pep Guardiola. Perhaps that’s unsurprising: he’s, in spite of everything, supervisor of their rivals. But he’s additionally an previous ally, a person who labored with Guardiola at Bayern Munich, one who, simply earlier than he took the job at Manchester United, the Catalan had stated might succeed him on the Etihad Stadium. They are a part of a mutual admiration society.

“The way in winning the title is a demonstration of football, everyone likes the way they play: so attractive, so brilliant,” Ten Hag stated. “But their season is still not finished as our season is still not finished.” If Guardiola is denied a historic treble, it could be by a person he took beneath his wing.

The man who preferred Guardiola’s soccer a lot that he took a backward step to team up with him, leaving a supervisor’s job at Go Ahead Eagles, who he had led to promotion, to take cost of Bayern’s second team within the German fourth division in 2013, has progressed quickly. If Ten Hag was enjoying the lengthy recreation, trying to additional his training, now they meet as friends; on the Etihad Stadium and then Old Trafford this season, at Wembley within the FA Cup final on Saturday. Guardiola has the extra storied CV, however Ten Hag is answerable for the larger membership. If, for a lot of this season, Guardiola might lookup the league desk and see one in all his proteges, Mikel Arteta, above him, now he could also be denied the FA Cup by one other from his footballing household tree.

And but the sense is that Ten Hag is trying to topple Guardiola, not emulate him. They can come from the identical college of thought, however they’ve attended totally different lessons. Ten Hag is the previous Ajax supervisor and but Guardiola is extra of the Ajax purist. Guardiola is the Johan Cruyff disciple, the person whose considering was formed by the person indelibly related to Dutch soccer. He was the sluggish, inelegant reserve-team participant parachuted into Barcelona’s Dream Team, who then turned a European Cup winner as a participant; in 2008, Cruyff advocated giving the untried Guardiola the supervisor’s job. A spectacular success solely enhanced his personal legacy. “Without him, I wouldn’t be here,” Guardiola mirrored in 2016.

This is the primary time in 12 years the FA Cup final will kick-off at 3pm BST with the earlier event being Manchester City’s 1-0 win over Stoke City in 2011.

Last season’s final between Liverpool and Chelsea began at 4:45pm

London’s Metropolitan Police has categorised the derby match as excessive threat and objected to a later kick-off time on safety grounds.

It can be the primary time the FA Cup final, historically performed in May, has taken place in June, because of fixture congestion brought on by the World Cup in Qatar final November and December.

Erik ten Hag on what makes Pep Guardiola particular: “Oh, I don’t tell! It’s obvious we have seen what he is doing, he’s doing a brilliant job.

“What he can do is he can construct not only winning teams but also winning in a very attractive way, so that is why I think we all admire him so.”

Manchester United have been pointless and headed for humiliation. As Brentford scored 4 targets in a half – and the primary half at that – and Erik ten Hag’s reign started amid farce, a footballer who had starred in 4 Champions League final victories reached for his telephone. United’s most high-profile switch goal texted his agent.

But to not again out of a deal. The message, as an alternative, was to inform United he would “fix” it.

It was an indication of Casemiro’s confidence. If that self-assurance is a product of a profession of uncommon success – the Carabao Cup took his trophy rely to 21 – many one other would have been deterred by the impression United have been in disaster. They may need stayed at Real Madrid. Not him.

“No second thoughts at all,” he recalled. “But to be honest I did say that. I was speaking to my agent, and with John [Murtough, United’s director of football] too about this afterwards. I’d said this after it had happened because I was also very excited and I was aware that my period at Real Madrid had come to an end and I was really upbeat about coming here and taking on this new project, this new challenge. It was clear in my mind.”

Interview by Richard Jolly