Gary Neville warns Erik ten Hag against “massive” Man United FA Cup final risk

Gary Neville has warned Erik ten Hag against a massive Manchester United risk ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup final against Manchester City.

For the second consecutive season, Manchester United and Manchester City will clash in the FA Cup final, with City having secured the Premier League title just the weekend before.

This time, though, United’s journey has been starkly different. The team has struggled to meet expectations across all competitions, making the FA Cup their last opportunity to secure both a trophy and a spot in European competition.

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Last season, City claimed victory with İlkay Gündoğan netting twice, overcoming Bruno Fernandes’ first-half penalty. Many pointed fingers at David de Gea, blaming his poor goalkeeping for United’s loss in the final.

During this campaign, United has suffered horrible injury problems. The club’s best starting centre-backs, Lisandro Martínez and Raphaël Varane, have only just returned from injury, while Victor Lindelöf has only just returned to training. Harry Maguire’s fitness remains unknown.

Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, Neville has instead named Jonny Evans as the man to start alongside Martínez despite the others potentially being fit for the final.

“I think it will be Jonny Evans and Martínez. I can’t think he will play Varane and Martínez, both of them, having not played, that’s a massive risk.”

Jamie Carragher then disagreed, saying: “I think he’s got to take a chance with players who are probably not fully fit. That’s Varane and Martínez,

“Those two have to play at centre-back. Varane, if he plays to the level he can play, he’s a good player, so who else are you going to put there? Casemiro? Evans? You’ve got to stop Erling Haaland.”