Premier League champions Manchester City will take on Javier Gracia’s rejuvenated Watford in the 2019 Emirates FA Cup Final on Saturday.
Pep Guardiola’s side are aiming to win the famous trophy for a sixth time while the Hornets will be going for their maiden success in the competition.
And here are some key facts ahead of the season’s Wembley showpiece:
+ Manchester City could become the first team to win the domestic treble in England, having already won the Premier League title and EFL Cup this season.
+ Manchester City are looking to become just the fourth team to win both major domestic cup competitions in the same season, after Arsenal in 1992-93, Liverpool in 2000-01 and Chelsea in 2006-07.
+ Manchester City are the ninth different team to reach both major domestic English cup finals within the same season, after Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United, Middlesbrough, Sheffield Wednesday and Tottenham Hotspur.
+ This will be Manchester City’s 11th appearance in an FA Cup Final and their first since 2013, when they lost 0-1 to Wigan. They’ve won the competition five times (1904, 1934, 1956, 1969 and 2011).
+ Watford’s only previous FA Cup Final appearance came in 1984 under manager Graham Taylor, losing 0-2 to Everton at Wembley.
+ Watford’s 35-year wait for a second FA Cup Final appearance is the longest since 1967, when Chelsea appeared in their second Final 52 years after first featuring in 1915.
+ No team to finish in the bottom half of the top-flight table has ever beaten the side to finish top in an FA Cup Final – the previous lowest was in 1957, when 10th-placed Aston Villa beat champions Manchester United.
+ Man City have eliminated Watford from The FA Cup in each of their previous three ties, winning 3-1 in 1996-97, 3-0 in 2012-13 and 4-2 in 2013-14; Watford’s only elimination of City in The FA Cup was in the 1985-86 season in the fourth round.
+ Manchester City have scored 20 goals in the Emirates FA Cup this season, the most by a team in a single season in the competition since Chelsea in 2011-12 (also 20).
+ Watford have lost their last 10 matches against Manchester City in all competitions, conceding 32 goals in those games. They are winless in 15 games against the Citizens (W0 D2 L13) since a 1-0 win in March 1989 in the second tier.
+ Gerard Deulofeu is Watford’s highest scorer in all competitions this season (12). Nine of his 12 goals this season have come in his last 13 games, with the Spaniard scoring Watford’s winner in their semi-final victory against Wolves.
+ Sergio Aguero has been involved in 12 goals in just seven appearances against Watford for Manchester City in all competitions (10 goals, 2 assists), including two hat-tricks – one of which was in a 4-2 FA Cup win in January 2014.
+ Sergio Aguero has scored 32 goals in all competitions for Man City this season – only in 2016-17 (33) has he scored more in a single campaign for the Citizens.
+ Since the start of the 2011-12 season, Man City striker Sergio Aguero has scored 18 FA Cup goals – three more than any other player; the Argentinian has scored in every round he’s played in barring the final, failing to score in the 2013 final against Wigan.
+ This will be the first FA Cup Final between two managers of the same nationality since 2008 (Dave Jones and Harry Redknapp). It’s only the second time it’s happened when the managers aren’t British, with the other being in 2001 between Frenchmen Arsene Wenger and Gerard Houllier.
+ Either Pep Guardiola or Javier Gracia will become the third Spanish manager to win The FA Cup, after Rafael Benitez (2006, Liverpool) and Roberto Martinez (2013, Wigan).
+ In his entire managerial career, Pep Guardiola only has a better 100 per cent win record against four teams than he does against Watford (six wins out of six) – Malaga (8/8) and Hannover 96, Werder Bremen and West Ham (7/7).
+ Pep Guardiola could become just the eighth manager to win the English top flight, League Cup and FA Cup, after Bill Nicholson, Don Revie, Joe Mercer, Kenny Dalglish, George Graham, Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho; Mercer achieved the feat with Manchester City.
