The FA Cup final is right around the corner for Manchester City and Crystal Palace.
The Wembley contest is massive for both clubs, as Crystal Palace have never won the competition, while Man City have experienced a tough season by their standards and winning the FA Cup will help salvage the campaign, while giving Pep Guardiola’s men a boost to qualify for next season’s Champions League.
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.
Paul Merson has now given his opinion on the contest and the former Arsenal star foresees a “really open” game playing out between the two Premier League sides.
Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images
Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images
Paul Merson predicts Man City to win the FA Cup
This season’s FA Cup final is a hard one to call for many pundits and fans, with Jamie Carragher predicting Crystal Palace to overcome Man City at Wembley.
More Man City News
The divide in opinion can be seen with Merson’s prediction as the Sky Sports pundit sees City lifting the FA Cup after beating Palace 2-1.
Writing for Sportskeeda, the pundit explains his reasons for his pick, with experience seemingly the determining factor.
“I personally think this is a really tough game to call. I expect this cup final to be a really open contest where the result isn’t a foregone conclusion,” Merson said.
“If you remember the last game between these two sides in the league, Manchester City secured a 5-2 win. But Palace were 2-0 up in that game, and it could have easily been 3-0.
“If that third goal from Palace wasn’t disallowed, that would have been game over for City. I know that City put five past Palace to seal that comeback win, but it became so evident that the Eagles can hurt their opponents.
“Who wins the FA Cup? Purely because of their experience, I’m going to go with Manchester City here. Crystal Palace can be proud of their run in the cup; they have been incredible.
“I don’t expect Oliver Glasner’s men to go down without a fight either. But I still think City will prevail in the end and taste silverware at Wembley.”
Crystal Palace have been in great form of late and have many stars that can hurt Guardiola’s squad. Eberechi Eze has been linked to Man City this week, and the midfielder is one of four players Merson has told the Manchester club to watch out for on Saturday.
Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images
Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images
Paul Merson warns Man City about four Crystal Palace stars
Erling Haaland has admitted that he is a fan of Eze, and the Palace star arrives into the FA Cup final in top form, having produced five goals and two assists in his last seven Premier League games, which doesn’t include the stunner he scored against Aston Villa in the FA Cup semi-final.
The midfielder is one of the players Man City need to watch out for, believes Merson, alongside Jean-Philippe Mateta, Daniel Munoz and Marc Guehi.
“We all know how dangerous Palace can be when the likes of Eberechi Eze and Jean-Philippe Mateta hit the ground running,” the pundit said. “I’ve also been very impressed by Daniel Munoz and Marc Guehi in defence. So I expect this final to be a very even contest at Wembley.”
Wembley looks set to host an incredible contest on Saturday, and whoever wins the match, there will be plenty of storylines off the back of it.