Man Utd midfielder Fred sends warning to Man City and Erling Haaland ahead of FA Cup final

Manchester United midfielder Fred is in confident spirits ahead of next month's FA Cup final against newly-crowned Premier League champions Manchester City.

Pep Guardiola's side are just two games away from completing a historic treble. They will come up against Inter Milan at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium, Istanbul on June 10 in this season's Champions League final.

But before that, they must beat local rivals United in a highly-anticipated FA Cup final on June 3.

After overwhelming Arsenal in the title race, many are expecting City to lift the trophy when both Manchester clubs meet at Wembley, although Brazilian midfielder Fred has different ideas.

The 30-year-old points out United's win over City at Old Trafford in January, when goals from Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford sealed a 2-1 victory, as a reference point ahead of next month's final.

"From my point of view, Manchester City play the best football in the world at the moment," Fred told FourFourTwo. "Under Pep Guardiola, an outstanding coach, they’ve won loads of titles with a very clear playing style.

"They know how to maintain possession – it’s so tough to face them. But it’s not impossible. We lost when we played them away this season, but we beat them at home, with Haaland on the pitch."

On the subject of keeping Erling Haaland quiet – the striker who recently broke the Premier League record for most goals in a single season – Fred doesn't seem fazed.

He said: "Yes, I agree that he’s the world’s best forward right now, but we’re Manchester United, and if we’re able to play our best football then I don’t see why we can’t win."

Image credit: Alamy

Former United defender Gary Neville has also rated United's chances ahead of next month's showpiece event.

"I’ve bought tickets for Wembley,’ he told The Times. "I’m thinking, I want to be there to watch Man City beat Man Utd and potentially go on to win the treble, but I also want to be there for potentially Man Utd stopping them. For that 5 per cent chance it might happen.

"‘Do I want City to win the treble? No! No! No, I don’t. Nobody wants City to win the treble if you’re a Manchester United fan.

‘But if they do the job and beat Manchester United [in the FA Cup final] and Inter Milan [in the Champions League final] you’d just have to hold your hands up and say, 'This manager and this group of players have achieved something unique.' And that, actually, it’s quite fitting if this manager does it.

"Sir Alex Ferguson deserves to be the only manager in history to have done the treble because he’s the greatest but if Pep Guardiola joined him, he’d be a worthy companion, because I think he is equal of what Sir Alex Ferguson achieved."

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