Manchester United legend Denis Irwin believes his former club can hurt Manchester City in the FA Cup on Saturday.
Former Manchester United player Denis Irwin believes that City’s treble can be halt by his former club.
The FA cup will feature both Manchester team at the Wembley stadium as Pep Guardiola seek to lead his side to win the treble a feat only Alex Ferguson have achieved with an English team.
Having won their fifth league title in six seasons, Manchester City have a potentially historic 10 days ahead as they line up in the finals of both the FA Cup and Champions League.
The Red Devils can have a direct impact in stopping City repeating their feat as the Manchester rivals go head-to-head in the FA Cup showpiece at Wembley on Saturday.
Irishman Irwin was part of the triumphant United side in 1999 and while he hailed the “fantastic” Catalan, he insists his achievements in the game do not yet eclipse the great Fergie.
Speaking exclusively at LiveScore’s Champions League final fan preview event in Dublin, the 57-year-old said: “I think Guardiola has still got a bit to go.
“Sir Alex is remembered for what he did at Manchester United but you have to look at what he did at Aberdeen as well.
“He broke the Glasgow stronghold of Rangers and Celtic, which is no mean feat. He managed to win a European competition by beating Real Madrid in the final.
“When you look at what he did there and then what he did at Man Utd — the longevity, the amount of cups he won.
“Don’t get me wrong, Guardiola has done brilliantly at Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City and I have no doubt that wherever he goes next he’ll have great success. He really is a fantastic manager.
“The style he plays, particularly this season, he’s adjusted the system a little bit and they’ve been a great team to watch this year.”
On whether the Red Devils can get the better of City, Irwin added: “Absolutely. When there’s a one-off game, anything can happen. We’ve seen that in FA Cup finals down the years.
“You go back to 1973, you go back to Wigan about 10 years ago. It can happen and that’s the beauty of football, there are no guarantees.
“Manchester United have got players that can hurt them [City]. It’s fair to say United will have to defend very, very well but it’ll come down to who takes their chances on the day.
“I don’t think it’ll be as clear cut as what people think.”
Follow us on all social media platform, @Sportscliffs on Twitter and Instagram and also like our facebook page
