Manchester City travelled down to Wembley on Friday evening ahead of the FA Cup final vs Manchester United with injured goalkeeper Ederson joining the squad.
Ederson was a surprise addition to the group who took the train from Manchester Piccadilly ahead of Saturday’s showpiece final, having suffered a fractured eye socket ten days ago in the crucial Premier League win over Tottenham.
Stefan Ortega replaced Ederson that night and produced a title-winning save against Heung-min Son as City went on to get the wins they needed to win the Premier League on the final day last weekend. Ortega is still set to start the FA Cup final anyway as second-choice goalkeeper, but Ederson’s presence raises questions over his availability having previously been ruled out.
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Pep Guardiola had confirmed there were no injury concerns aside from Ederson earlier on Friday, and academy goalkeeper True Grant was called up again after playing the role as third goalkeeper last weekend, which could suggest Ederson is purely in the squad as all players would traditionally travel together for the cup final.
Ederson has been replaced in Brazil’s Copa America squad for the summer, adding to the feeling that he will not be involved at Wembley.
Grant is the son of former United ‘keeper Lee Grant and started City’s victorious FA Youth Cup final a fortnight ago at the Etihad as his father watched on. He has been involved in a handful of squads for the first team this season, and made the bench in the Champions League group stage win at Red Star.
John Stones was among the group looking for a rare start at the end of the season, with Guardiola pointing to Manu Akanji’s form as a reason for why Stones has only started once in the last nine games – the FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea on City’s last visit to Wembley.
Guardiola had said earlier on Friday that he was impressed with City’s focus in training having enjoyed a few days off following Sunday’s Premier League title win. Some players – including Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland – had been pictured partying in Manchester into the early hours of Monday, however Guardiola insisted his players must enjoy their successes and was pleased with their application in the build-up to the final.
Man City players spotted in FA Cup final squad:
Ederson, Ortega, Carson, Grant, Stones, Dias, Ake, Akanji, Walker, Gvardiol, Lewis, Gomez, Rodri, De Bruyne, Bernardo, Kovacic, Nunes, Grealish, Foden, Doku, Bobb, Haaland, Alvarez.