FA Cup Final Boost

Rodri is the cog that makes this Manchester City team tick as well as they do. City effectively line up in a 4-1-4-1 shifting to a 3-2-4-1 in possession with Rodri always progressing play through the middle. The ever present Spaniard proved his talent again on the final day, scoring the title sealing goal in a 3-1 win v West Ham. Rodri also managed 2 shots on target and 3 shots in that game.

The 2021 UCL final was the last time Rodri didn’t start a match of this stature on selection. Pep will drive everything through his star holding midfielder and with United sitting in a low block, he will be in plenty of space to get shots off. In both fixtures against United this season, Rodri has had 2 shots and 1 on target on both occasions. Across all domestic competitions, United average 16 shots against per game.

Of their consistent starters, Rodri leads City in fouls per 90 with 1.26. He’s often in the wars and with how high City tend to play he can be susceptible to committing fouls on the transition which is the only way United will be trying to play. With the reds staying compact, they will rely on pace on the counter to give them any chance, similar to Spurs two weeks ago v City. Rodri committed 2+ fouls against the fast paced Spurs side as well as 2+ against the likes of Newcastle and Arsenal.

Lining up against Fernandes, Rodri could get engaged in quite a scrappy affair. Fernandes draws 0.81 fouls per 90 while the likes of Mainoo draw 1.07, Garnacho 1.89 and McTominay 1. There is plenty of candidates for Rodri to be exposed too especially when United have to counter at a pace.

There’s a lot to unpack at United right now, but despite everything that is going on, Fernandes’ quality has still managed to shine through this season. His 10 league goals come from 35 shots on target, at an average 1.01 per 90.

He’s managed a SOT in his last 11 games in all competitions. His form against City is respectable too, this selection landed in one of their two league meetings this season, and it landed in last year’s FA Cup final too.

City are going to be a tough opponent to crack, but Fernandes is the most likely to do it, and I think he’ll at least get some sort of effort on goal here.

With the game expecting to be dominated by the blue corner, it’s easy to see a Bruno Fernandes head loss on the main stage, especially when there’s silverware on the line. He has committed fouls in each of his last 3 and was carded on the final day of the Premier League season at Brighton. He has also committed 4 fouls already against Manchester City this season and picked up a card at Old Trafford.

In a heated derby with plenty on the line, Fernandes committed a foul in last year’s final. Taking on more of the workload in a far worse side should see him more likely to commit multiple fouls. Fernandes has committed a foul in every FA Cup tie bar one this season, away at Newport County. He missed his first game through injury a couple weeks ago but the star won’t be missing a single minute today.