Manchester City travel to Wembley on Saturday to take on Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final.
The contest is massive for both clubs as Palace have never won the competition in their history, while City need to win the trophy to salvage a season that has been very underwhelming for Pep Guardiola’s men.
Man City come into the match on an unbeaten run of 10 games, but despite this, Jamie Carragher feels Crystal Palace will win the FA Cup.
Sam Allardyce believes Man City have an advantage over Crystal Palace heading into the FA Cup final, as the former Premier League boss thinks the Manchester club’s experience in big games could get them over the line.
For the neutral, the Wembley showpiece is set to be a great occasion, and here is the team news and the predicted 11 Manchester City News thinks Guardiola will go with.
Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
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Manchester City team news vs Crystal Palace
Erling Haaland was adamant that he would be fit for the FA Cup final after his recent injury, and last weekend saw the Norwegian superstar return to action against Southampton.
However, many other members of City’s squad have not been so lucky as John Stones is yet to fully recover from his thigh injury, and Oscar Bobb will not be risked after his recent hamstring issue.
Rodri was expected to play some role in the FA Cup final, however, the midfielder is unlikely to be risked, with the FIFA Club World Cup this summer being the most likely return period for the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner.
Man City welcomed Nathan Ake back to training last week, and it remains to be seen if the Dutch star will be included in the squad to face Crystal Palace on Saturday. That will become clearer after Guardiola’s press conference on Friday, as the Spaniard has many decisions to make ahead of his Wembley trip.
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Ederson has started every game for Man City since returning from his recent injury, however, Guardiola often likes to use his second goalkeeper in the FA Cup final, with Stefan Ortega starting the previous two, and the same is expected again on Saturday.
Last time out against Southampton, Guardiola switched Josko Gvardiol to left back, however, the Croatian should return to his preferred centre-back role on Saturday. Partnering the Croatian star will be Ruben Dias at the heart of the City defence as the duo have been excellent in recent weeks.
When it comes to the full-backs, Man City made changes to both positions against the Saints, but Guardiola is likely to go with his best pair over the last two months, with Nico O’Reilly expected to begin the game at left-back, with Matheus Nunes starting on the opposite flank.
Image of Man City's predicted FA Cup final 11 vs Crystal Palace
Man City’s predicted FA Cup final 11 vs Crystal Palace
Man City have not used a 4-1-4-1 formation since their win over Aston Villa, but it could make its return in the FA Cup final with Mateo Kovacic occupying the sole number six position.
Ahead of the 31-year-old midfielder, Omar Marmoush will return to the starting 11 on the left wing, with Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan as the two number 10s, and Bernardo Silva on the right.
Guardiola rested Gundogan against Southampton, but the veteran star the Spaniard once described as an ‘incredible player’ to ManCity.com is very likely to return for the FA Cup final, despite a report this week stating that Man City are willing to sell the German this summer.
Erling Haaland believes winning the FA Cup will not make the season a success for Man City; however, the Norwegian will be doing his best to get himself a medal, as the striker is expected to start up top for City at Wembley.
Manchester City predicted FA Cup final starting XI vs Crystal Palace (4-1-4-1): Ortega; Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly; Kovacic; Silva, Gundogan, De Bruyne, Marmoush; Haaland.