Manchester City will compete in their third consecutive FA Cup final on Saturday, May 17th, as they face Crystal Palace at Wembley Stadium.
Pep Guardiola’s side will be aiming to regain the trophy after a 2-1 defeat to their rivals, Manchester United, in last year’s final.
For Palace, this will be their fourth FA Cup final, with their most recent appearance coming in 2016. They will be hoping to secure the trophy for the first time in the club’s history.
The Stats
Pep Guardiola’s side come into the game sitting fourth in the Premier League table with two games remaining as they look to secure Champions League football for next season. Winning the FA Cup would offer a positive end to a campaign that has fallen short of expectations based on their early-season form.
Crystal Palace, on the other hand, arrive in strong form, having equalled their best-ever Premier League points tally of 49 with two games to spare. Eberechi Eze will be the key figure for Palace on Saturday after scoring twice in their recent win over Tottenham.
Palace will be aiming to go one better than their last FA Cup final appearance in 2016, when they lost 2-1 to Manchester United. They’re also chasing their first piece of silverware in 34 years, having last lifted the Full Members’ Cup in 1991.
Route to the Final
Crystal Palace
- Round 3 – Stockport County (H) 1-0
- Round 4 – Doncaster Rovers (A) 2-0
- Round 5 – Millwall (H) 3-1
- Quarter-final – Fulham (A) 3-0
- Semi-Final – Aston Villa 3-0
Manchester City
- Round 3 – Salford City (H) 8-0
- Round 4 – Leyton Orient (A) 2-1
- Round 5 – Plymouth Argyle (H) 3-1
- Quarter-final – Bournemouth (A) 2-1
- Semi-Final – Nottingham Forest 2-0
Team News
Manchester City return to Wembley with their key talisman Erling Haaland back in the squad. The Norwegian striker played the full 90 minutes in Sunday’s 0-0 Premier League draw against Southampton, providing a major boost to Guardiola’s side ahead of the final.
Crystal Palace will be hoping Adam Wharton recovers in time for the game, with the English midfielder hoping to recover from an ankle injury.
Predicted lineups
Crystal Palace: Dean Henderson; Tyrick Mitchell, Marc Guehi, Maxence Lacroix, Chris Richards, Daniel Munoz; Adam Wharton, Jefferson Lerma, Eberechi Eze, Ismaila Sarr, Jean-Philippe Mateta
Manchester City: Ederson Moraes; Josko Gvardiol, Manuel Akanji, Ruben Dias, Rico Lewis; Bernardo Silva, Mateo Kovacic; Phil Foden, Kevin De Bruyne, Jeremy Doku; Erling Haaland
TV Guide
If you’re not attending the game on Saturday afternoon, it will be televised, with kick-off scheduled for 16:30 British Summer Time.
In the UK, the match will be broadcast live on both ITV and BBC One. Catch-up coverage will be available on BBC iPlayer and ITVX.
UOGJMag Prediction
We predict that Crystal Palace will overcome Manchester City and lift their first-ever FA Cup, winning 2-1 after extra time. With confidence high and key players like Eberechi Eze in form, the Eagles could rise to the occasion and make history at Wembley.
