Is this year’s FA Cup Final a means to an end?

When Manchester City and Wigan Athletic walk out onto the hallowed turf of Wembley at a few minutes before 5.15 on Saturday afternoon, it seems likely that people’s minds will be elsewhere.

Be it Roberto Martinez’s most recent attempt to keep Wigan in the Premier League or the cloud of nostalgia hanging over Sir Alex Ferguson’s imminent retirement after 26 years at the zenith of English football, there has been an oddly low-key feel to preparations for this year’s FA Cup final.

For the teams in question, the final is one of the least important in recent years. City will be looking ahead to the challenge of dethroning their cross-city rivals once again while, despite the prestige the cup brings, Wigan will have their minds on the final two games of the domestic campaign as they seek to prove the cynics wrong yet again and survive for another season.

That said, we all know that the FA Cup more than any other English football tournament is about the providing the fans with memories that will stay with them ad infinitum.

City fans, like myself, are still at the stage where success is new, fresh and exciting after so many years of desolation and as such any trip to Wembley is welcomed with open arms, while for Wigan, a showpiece final is a rarity.

This is their first FA Cup final, with only a 2006 League Cup final – a chastening 4-0 loss to Manchester United – to their name.

The game itself may have the appearance of a one-sided affair, with the teams occupying very different strata in the Premier League table, but if the two league games from this season are anything to go by, it has the makings of closely fought affair.

City collected six points from the two games, but needed late goals both times after two resolute defensive displays from Wigan.

As you may expect, the game is once again shaping up to be defined by the battle between Man City’s attacking options and Wigan’s defensive unit. After his goal in the midweek game against West Brom, Edin Dzeko may have played his way into a starting spot at Wembley, but features stiff competition from diminutive duo Sergio Aguero and Carlos Tevez.

Whoever plays up front for City will be licking their lips at the prospect of coming up against a makeshift Latics defence. Antolin Alcaraz, Ivan Ramis and Maynor Figueroa were already ruled out before Wigan’s disastrous 3-2 defeat to Swansea City on Tuesday night; further injuries to Jean Beausejour and Ronnie Stam, who has a suspected broken leg, in midweek will stretch Wigan’s resources.
Wigan’s approach to the FA Cup has been noticeably different to the Premier League. While it may seem patronising to encourage them to simply “enjoy the day out”, Wigan’s 3-0 demolition of Everton is the quarter-finals shows that they are extremely potent when they play with freedom.

The ever-dangerous Arouna Kone and Shaun Maloney have the potential to trouble reserve City keeper Costel Pantilimon in what looks likely to be his final game for the club, and if Wigan use the game as a distraction from their Premier League woes, they are exactly the kind of team who could spring a surprise, in the process denying City a second FA Cup in three years.

Whatever the situation both clubs find themselves in, the FA Cup final grants an opportunity to gain a sense of momentum, focused around a strong next season for City and avoiding relegation for Wigan.

With the futures of both Robertos, Mancini and Martinez, in doubt, Saturday could be key in determining who is at the helm come next season. Not only that, but it could also change the narrative of how both managers’ legacies will be looked back on in years to come.