Paul Scholes has urged Erik ten Hag to ‘pack the midfield’ and play Marcus Rashford as a centre forward to beat Manchester City in Saturday’s FA Cup final. The rivals meet at Wembley with City chasing three trophies, having already bagged the Premier League title and positioned as heavy favourites to win the Champions League final next week. United are the only English side in history to win the Treble, and denying their city rivals that success is a huge incentive for Erik ten Hag, who is hoping to secure a second piece of silverware in his first season in charge having already won the Carabao Cup. The Dutchman will be without Anthony Martial, who is now sidelined with a hamstring injury, which will likely see Rashford, who has scored 30 times this season, start through the middle. United legend Scholes believes that could see Bruno Fernandes moved out onto the right, urging the United boss to add Fred or Scott McTominay to his midfield to do battle with City in the middle of the park.
“I think he’ll [Ten Hag] play him [Rashford] down the middle because he’ll want to get an extra midfield player in there,” Scholes said. “From past experience, I think you need an extra man, whether it’s Fred, whether it’s [Scott] McTominay, playing with Casemiro and [Christian] Eriksen. That will mean Bruno [Fernandes] has to go out to one of the sides.”
United are also likely to be without Antony for today’s final with the Brazilian stretchered off during the recent victory over Chelsea. In his absence, Jadon Sancho has impressed over on the right flank with Scholes believing the former Borussia Dortmund star can play a key role at Wembley. “I think Sancho’s had a really good end to the season and can be a threat against Man City,” Scholes said. “But they have to pack that midfield.” City thrashed United 6-3 in the first league meeting between the two sides with Rashford scoring a dramatic last minute winner in the reverse fixture at Old Trafford in January.