Ederson Stefan Ortega Man City splitGetty/GOAL

Explained: Why Ederson isn't playing in goal for Man City in FA Cup final as Pep Guardiola drops his No.1

  • Ortega will play FA Cup final vs Man Utd
  • German has played all of City's previous Cup ties
  • Grealish and De Bruyne all fit for Wembley

WHAT HAPPENED? Ortega starts the FA Cup final after playing in all of City's previous matches in the tournament. Guardiola had confirmed Jack Grealish and Kevin De Bruyne have trained twice since recovering from niggling injuries and both are fit enough to start at Wembley.

WHAT THEY SAID: "Yeah he [Ortega] is going to play. It's always been the same in the cups, even with Barcelona and Munich, so he's going to play in the FA Cup," Guardiola told a press conference on Friday.

On De Bruyne and Grealish, who missed the 1-0 defeat at Brentford, the coach added: "They trained well the last two training sessions. They are more or less fine."

Article continues below

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Throughout his career Guardiola has often played his stand-in goalkeeper in domestic cup competitions, with Jose Manuel Pinto starting three Copa del Rey finals for him for Barcelona. Last season Zack Steffen started the FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool and had a nightmare display. Ederson did play in the 2019 final against Watford but will watch Saturday's game from the bench.

IN THREE PHOTOS:

20230521 Pep Guardiola(C)Getty ImagesStefan Ortegagetty imagesEderson Manchester City blue hairGetty

WHAT NEXT? After facing United at Wembley hoping to complete the domestic double, City head to Istanbul for the Champions League final against Inter Milan.

Advertisement