Saturday afternoon sees Man United take on rivals Man City in a repeat of last season’s FA Cup final.
On that occasion, Erik ten Hag’s side never recovered from going 1-0 down in the opening seconds, and yet still only lost 2-1 thanks to an horrendous error by David de Gea.
The Red Devils were arguably in better form then than they are now, and a heavy defeat in the end of season showpiece will surely prove to be the Dutchman’s last game in charge.
Man United can beat Man City says Romano
Of course, football is littered with results that should never have happened and at the end of the day it is, as always, just 11 vs 11.
Man City are expected to win handsomely and that pressure can often be the undoing of teams, particular when their opponents have nothing to lose.
Another element to factor in is that, were ten Hag to be relieved of his duties shortly, any new manager coming in might be casting their eyes over the individual performances of players in the biggest game of the season.
If they’ve already identified – before landing the position – that certain players aren’t up for it, it could jeopardise their futures at Old Trafford.
Though Fabrizio Romano acknowledges that City are favourites, he does believe that there’s a way to beat them.
“Of course Man City are the big favourites,” he said to CaughtOffside for his Daily Briefing.
“You never know what can happen in a final, Man United will surely fight for it and I think it won’t be super easy for Man City, but I still see them as favourites no doubts on that.
“If United want to have any chance of causing an upset, it will be crucial to stop Kevin de Bruyne and Phil Foden’s creativity. That could really change the game… but it’s not easy at all.”
If there’s one manager you want in your dressing room to guard against complacency, then it’s Pep Guardiola.
Many times before now, other teams and managers will have hoped that City will slip up, but Pep just keeps his juggernaut rolling along.
When the pressure was really on in this season’s title race, they didn’t falter, and 29 wins in the last 35 games in all competitions (WhoScored) – and just one loss – shows the size of the task that Man United do have on Saturday afternoon.