Crystal Palace vs Manchester City

Wembley Stadium sets the stage for the 144th FA Cup final as Crystal Palace and Manchester City go head-to-head in a season-defining fixture.

Crystal Palace trounced Aston Villa 3-0 in the FA Cup semi-final to secure a third appearance in the Wembley showpiece, hoping to atone for previous slip-ups. Ominously, Manchester City’s fierce rivals United hindered each Palace’s attempt to win football’s oldest cup competition in 1990 and 2016. Another gut-wrenching result is on the cards, even though Oliver Glasner’s men strolled to the grand final, netting precisely three goals in their last three FA Cup ties. Indeed, the Eagles lament a dismal seven-game winless H2H run against City (D3, L4), most recently squandering a two-goal cushion in a 5-2 rout at the Etihad Stadium last month. Nonetheless, Palace should take the field in a buoyant mood after a comfortable 2-0 victory at Tottenham extended their unbeaten streak in all competitions to five games (W2, D3), with the London outfit netting 2+ goals in three of the last four. 

On the other hand, Manchester City eased past Nottingham Forest in their semi-final showdown (2-0) to set up their third consecutive appearance in the FA Cup final, seeking amends for a 2-1 defeat to Man Utd in last year’s title-deciding fixture. It’s been far from an impressive season for Pep Guardiola’s charges, who remain deeply embroiled in an intense battle for a top-five finish in the Premier League. However, they’ve hit a purple patch at the perfect time, going unbeaten in their last ten competitive outings (W7, D3). An underwhelming 0-0 draw at an already-relegated Southampton a week ago was hardly an ideal warm-up for this encounter, but it was at least their fourth clean sheet from the last five matches. Defensive resilience could be crucial to Man City’s effort to win their eighth FA Cup title and draw level with third-placed Liverpool and Spurs in the all-time ranking.