My secret hopes for an unexpected FA Cup final - and not another Manchester derby

Manchester City and Manchester United are the last two winners of the FA Cup - and the last two finals have also featured the two teams in a derby matchup.

The fifth round draw of the FA Cup was announced yesterday, and gave Manchester United a home tie against Fulham, whilst City were assigned the giant-killers of Plymouth Argyle, who shocked many when they beat league leaders Liverpool 1-0. 

The two teams are the last of the 'big six' remaining in the competition this season, but to avoid another repeated final and see a familiar face lifting the trophy, I'm quietly praying for their downfall - for the sake of variety.

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United are currently the more unpredictable of the two teams, with new boss Ruben Amorim aiming to make the best of a tricky situation; holding out until the summer transfer window where he can begin to recruit players more suited to his system.

The United hierarchy won't be expecting miracles in this half season - of course, some silverware is always welcome, and the club are the current holders of the trophy - but Amorim is still putting together a cohesive and settled team that are able to play his system of football. 

In recent games we have seen Kobbie Mainoo playing up front, Joshua Zirkzee playing out wide, Mazraoui pushed to centre-back, and more. It's clear that the United head coach is still in the experimentation phase, and will make big decisions on who to move on in the summer, and what positions require the most attention. 

They've had a bumpy road up until this point - beginning with an eventful third round tie against Arsenal which went to penalties after a red card and a disallowed goal. 

Their previous match against Leicester City was full of controversy - rules state that VAR isn't used in the competition until the fifth round, yet Harry Maguire looked well offside as he headed home the winner for United. Leicester felt rightly hard done by, especially given the fact they had taken the lead originally. 

Fulham await in the next round. There is some hope for the Red Devils - they have won both meetings against the west London club this season, both a 1-0 scoreline. The two sides met in the FA Cup as recently as 2023, with United emerging as 3-1 winners. 

Marco Silva's side should not be underestimated - the Cottagers will likely be targeting cup success as an opportunity to break into Europe, and Silva will be after further silverware in England after bringing the club up from the Championship almost three years ago. 

The main focus for Amorim and United should be establishing some consistency and building confidence in the team - and prepare to compete from next season and onwards. 

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City of course have had some downs so far this season - Pep lost four games in a row for the first time in his career(!), winning just one game in fourteen across November and December. They've since spent big in January and look to be getting themselves organised, but there are still some signs of weakness.

We saw this in their match against Leyton Orient - the Os took the lead to great cheer from their home support, but couldn't deal with the depth in quality on the City bench. A frantic Guardiola showed his frustrations from the sidelines as City squandered several chances to kill the game off. 

Injuries to key players has dented momentum - most notably a long term injury to Rodri forcing the Cityzens to splash £50m on Porto midfielder and La Masia graduate, Nico Gonzalez. 

Pep may also turn to more pressing priorities - mopping up their disastrous end to 2024 and prioritising league results, in order to book a Champions League position. They are still in European contention this season; scraping through the group stage but meeting a tough fixture in Real Madrid - which kicks off tonight at time of writing. 

Both clubs are favourites given their league standing, but as we saw this weekend with Liverpool, no one is completely safe in this competition. 

I love the FA Cup - it's my favourite domestic competition purely because of the surprises and upsets, and the potential of any two teams across the football pyramid matching up against each other. 

Despite that, the final often feels underwhelming as first division clubs usually find their way to the latter stages - the 2007/08 match between Portsmouth and Cardiff City was the last time a 'Big Six' club did not feature in the FA Cup Final. 

Big clubs also dominate the competition in terms of total wins - a win this year would tie City with Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea for second most wins, whilst United could tie with Arsenal for most FA Cup wins if they took home the trophy. 

Seeing a new face lift the trophy would be great - Aston Villa, for example, who last win came almost 70 years ago, and would give manager Unai Emery a well deserved piece of silverware. Nottingham Forest could be a dark horse given their season so far - they have lifted the cup only twice, most recently in 1959, but it would be a great reward after their hard work and investment. 

Oh, and I really hope Plymouth also beat Manchester City (and fingers crossed, get to Wembley)