Bitter local rivals Manchester City and Manchester United go head to head in a historic FA Cup final at Wembley on Saturday.
It’s the first time the two Manchester clubs have met in the showpiece final of English football’s premier knockout competition, and could see City move a step closer to a treble.
Saturday’s game will be United’s third appearance of the season at Wembley, having triumphed in the Carabao Cup at the iconic stadium before edging past Brighton on penalties in the semifinals of this competition.
Man City’s Pep Guardiola, meanwhile, will be hoping to lead his side to a second trophy of this campaign, having won the Premier League last month, and with a Champions League final against Inter Milan to look forward to next weekend. The last — and only other — English team to win a treble? Man United, in 1999.
Below, we’ll outline the best live TV streaming services to use to watch the game live, wherever you are in the world.
Will it be the blue or the red half of Manchester celebrating a big FA Cup win on Saturday evening?
Manchester City vs. Manchester United: When and where?
Manchester City face Manchester United in this FA Cup final in the neutral setting of London’s Wembley Stadium on Saturday, June 3. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. BST local time in the UK (10 a.m. ET, 7 a.m. PT in the US and Canada, and 12 a.m. AEST on Sunday, June 4 in Australia).
How to watch the Man City vs. Man United game online from anywhere using a VPN
If you find yourself unable to view the cup final locally, you may need a different way to watch the game — that’s where using a VPN can come in handy. A VPN is also the best way to stop your ISP from throttling your speeds on game day by encrypting your traffic, and it’s also a great idea if you’re traveling and find yourself connected to a Wi-Fi network, and you want to add an extra layer of privacy for your devices and logins.
With a VPN, you’re able to virtually change your location on your phone, tablet or laptop to get access to the game. Most VPNs, like our Editors’ Choice, ExpressVPN, make it really easy to do this.
Using a VPN to watch or stream sports is legal in any country where VPNs are legal, including the US, UK and Canada, as long as you have a legitimate subscription to the service you’re streaming. You should be sure your VPN is set up correctly to prevent leaks: Even where VPNs are legal, the streaming service may terminate the account of anyone it deems to be circumventing correctly applied blackout restrictions.
Looking for other options? Be sure to check out some of the other great VPN deals taking place right now.
Livestream the Man City vs. Man United game in the US
The FA Cup final is streaming exclusively live in the US on ESPN Plus. Kickoff is at 10 a.m. ET (7 a.m. PT) on Saturday for viewers in the States.
Livestream the Man City vs. Man United game for free in the UK
The great news for footy fans in the UK is that free-to-air broadcasters the BBC and ITV are sharing live duties for this season’s FA Cup final.
Coverage on BBC1 kicks off at 1:50 p.m. BST and on ITV1 from 2:05 p.m. ahead of the 3 p.m. kick-off.
With the match being broadcast on BBC1, that means you’ll be able to watch the game online for free via the network’s on-demand streaming service, BBC iPlayer.
With an app that’s available for Android and Apple mobile devices, as well as a vast array of smart TVs and streaming boxes, all you need is a valid UK TV license to stream the game.
As the match is being broadcast on ITV1, that means you’ll also have the option of watching the game online for free via the network’s on-demand streaming service, ITVX (formerly ITV Hub).
The service has an updated app that’s available for Android and Apple mobile devices, as well as a vast array of smart TVs.
Livestream Man City vs. Man United game in Canada
Canadian soccer fans looking to watch the FA Cup final can get all the action live via Sportsnet.
Sportsnet is available via most cable operators, but cord-cutters can subscribe to the network’s standalone streaming service SN Now instead, with prices starting at CA$15 per month or CA$150 per year.
Livestream Man City vs. Manchester United game in Australia
ViacomCBS holds the broadcast rights for the FA Cup in Australia, which means you can now watch the final live Down Under via streaming service Paramount Plus. Kickoff is at 12 a.m. AEST on Sunday morning.
An Australian Paramount Plus subscription currently costs AU$9 a month, which gives you access to Paramount’s coverage of this year’s tournament, as well as Hollywood movies such as Top Gun: Maverick and original shows like Picard and Tulsa King.
Quick tips for streaming the FA Cup using a VPN
- With four variables at play — your ISP, browser, video streaming provider and VPN — your experience and success when streaming FA Cup matches may vary.
- If you don’t see your desired location as a default option for ExpressVPN, try using the “search for city or country” option.
- If you’re having trouble getting the game after you’ve turned on your VPN and set it to the correct viewing area, there are two things you can try for a quick fix. First, log into your streaming service subscription account and make sure the address registered for the account is an address in the correct viewing area. If not, you may need to change the physical address on file with your account. Second, some smart TVs — like Roku — don’t have VPN apps you can install directly on the device itself. Instead, you’ll have to install the VPN on your router or the mobile hotspot you’re using (like your phone) so that any device on its Wi-Fi network now appears in the correct viewing location.
- All of the VPN providers we recommend have helpful instructions on their main site for quickly installing the VPN on your router. In some cases with smart TV services, after you install a cable network’s sports app, you’ll be asked to verify a numeric code or click a link sent to your email address on file for your smart TV. This is where having a VPN on your router will also help, since both devices will appear to be in the correct location.
- And remember, browsers can often give away a location despite using a VPN, so be sure you’re using a privacy-first browser to log into your services. We normally recommend Brave.
