The mancityfans.net football forum

Jamie Redknapp:
This competition, more than any other, throws up surprises in finals. Think of Birmingham beating Arsenal, Cardiff taking Liverpool to penalties... It's happened many times in this competition. If City aren't quite at it Sunderland can get a result if they perform to their maximum. Are they capable of doing it? Yes, of course they are. But the bookies have City hot favourites and rightly so. I'm going for City just to pip it 2-1. I don't see this being a foregone conclusion by any stretch of the imagination - it may even go to extra-time - but I reckon City will just come out on top.

Kevin Phillips:
When I won this competition with Birmingham we were in a similar position to Sunderland. We were up against an Arsenal side doing well in the league while we were third or fourth from bottom, fighting relegation, and confidence wasn't high. But this is a one-off game and it's all down to who performs on the day, who takes their chances and who holds their nerve. Sunderland will need a little bit of luck - as Birmingham had in 2011 - but I'd love to see them pull it off. I didn't give them a chance at Old Trafford and they produced a remarkable result that evening so I'm not going to discount them. It's going to be very difficult but hopefully they can get it to extra-time or penalties - and then it's 50-50.

Niall Quinn:
Man City are the overwhelming favourites and even the dogs in the street will tell you Man City will win the cup. But something tells me it's not going to be straight forward. When you put form and squad strength on the table you do point to Man City, but when you look at Sunderland beating Chelsea to get here, beating Manchester United to get here - why can't they beat Man City? The hardest thing about being a pundit is not to state the obvious and on this occasion I'll have Sunderland to trouble Man City and possibly get there after extra-time.

Wonderwall wrote:Lawro, as many of you may be able to predict by now has gone for.......drum roll.......... 2-0!! Yes ladies and gents, he rarely slips from his proven course!

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/26323506

Jamie Redknapp:
This competition, more than any other, throws up surprises in finals. Think of Birmingham beating Arsenal, Cardiff taking Liverpool to penalties... It's happened many times in this competition. If City aren't quite at it Sunderland can get a result if they perform to their maximum. Are they capable of doing it? Yes, of course they are. But the bookies have City hot favourites and rightly so. I'm going for City just to pip it 2-1. I don't see this being a foregone conclusion by any stretch of the imagination - it may even go to extra-time - but I reckon City will just come out on top.

Kevin Phillips:
When I won this competition with Birmingham we were in a similar position to Sunderland. We were up against an Arsenal side doing well in the league while we were third or fourth from bottom, fighting relegation, and confidence wasn't high. But this is a one-off game and it's all down to who performs on the day, who takes their chances and who holds their nerve. Sunderland will need a little bit of luck - as Birmingham had in 2011 - but I'd love to see them pull it off. I didn't give them a chance at Old Trafford and they produced a remarkable result that evening so I'm not going to discount them. It's going to be very difficult but hopefully they can get it to extra-time or penalties - and then it's 50-50.

Niall Quinn:
Man City are the overwhelming favourites and even the dogs in the street will tell you Man City will win the cup. But something tells me it's not going to be straight forward. When you put form and squad strength on the table you do point to Man City, but when you look at Sunderland beating Chelsea to get here, beating Manchester United to get here - why can't they beat Man City? The hardest thing about being a pundit is not to state the obvious and on this occasion I'll have Sunderland to trouble Man City and possibly get there after extra-time.

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news ... -showpiece

Hutch's Shoulder wrote:Niall: When you put form and squad strength on the table you do point to Man City, but when you look at Sunderland beating Chelsea to get here, beating Manchester United to get here - why can't they beat Man City? Because their run against the odds won't last forever.