Pep Guardiola is in agreement with Erik ten Hag that injuries are the main reason Manchester United have struggled this season.
The Red Devils endured a miserable campaign, finishing eighth, their lowest finish since 1990 and lost a club record number of games in a single league season.
It wasn’t just domestically that United struggled, with Ten Hag’s side finishing bottom of their Champions League group, which contained Galatasaray and FC Copenhagen.
Guardiola agrees with Ten Hag
The Dutchman is looking to end the season on a high by lifting the FA Cup, with reports suggesting it will be his last game in charge of the club.
The Old Trafford outfit have expressed their interest in a number of managers including Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter, Kieran McKenna and Thomas Frank.
United will be desperate to stop their rivals from creating more history and becoming the first side to win back to back league and cup doubles.
United have been plagued by injury problems this season, particularly defensively with Ten Hag unable to field what he would consider to be his strongest line-up for large parts of the season.
Speaking before the Wembley showdown Guardiola admitted he was in agreeance with his counter part over United’s struggles being down to injuries.
“In the big clubs, when you don’t win, always you are in trouble”, Guardiola told reporters at his pre match press conference.
“That’s not a secret, I would be in trouble if we didn’t win.
“He’s done very, very good things and I have huge respect for his job in the past
“I completely agree when I listen to him say he hasn’t had a full squad all season and has had a lot, a lot of injuries.
“They should think this is the reason why, players have to be fit otherwise you cannot use them.
“They’ve had a lot of problems and then the manager has suffered a lot, I think the squad is really good but when players are injured you cannot use them.”
In a repeat of the 2023 final City go in as heavy favourites with United knowing they have to win if they are to play European football next season having missed out on qualification through the league.