Oliver Glasner in front of Selhurst, Ebs Eze and Marc GuehiOliver Glasner in front of Selhurst, Ebs Eze and Marc Guehi
Oliver Glasner in front of Selhurst, Ebs Eze and Marc Guehi | Getty
CPFC could fundamentally change this weekend
Crystal Palace will be heading into their third FA Cup final this weekend. They will be facing a Manchester City side who, could, finish outside of the top four for the first time since the 2009/10 campaign. Despite Pep Guardiola’s side struggling in recent times, they are still the favourites heading into the final, and Palace will have to find a way to stop the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Erling Haaland and Omar Marmoush to clinch their first-ever piece of major silverware.
But what this game represents is far bigger for the Eagles than it is for City, with the Manchester side coming into this tie hoping to salvage something from a lacklustre season. Palace in comparison need to win this game, first to make history and secondly to give their best players and manager a reason to stay and build.
Why Palace need to beat Man City this weekend
Players in Palace’s starting XI have long been linked with moves elsewhere. You just need to look at the transfer headlines on any given day and you’ll see the likes of Marc Guehi, Eberechi Eze and Adam Wharton being wanted by some of the biggest clubs in Europe. With many of the bigger sides misfiring this campaign, even someone like Jean Philippe Mateta is drawing attention from Man United, Newcastle and Spurs. It’s a natural part of the game, but this Palace side have the opportunity this weekend to change the trajectory of the entire club.
A first major trophy win for the South East London side would be big enough, but to be able to show ambition to the aforementioned players of getting into Europe and playing at a level like the Europa League...it’s a world away from the financially ravaged side of the late 2000s and may well stop moves to Spurs, Man United et al.
Palace have had a rollercoaster ride in the Premier League since their promotion in 2012-13 (despite finishing in a consistent position each year, any Palace fan will tell you how rocky it has been), but this side under Glasner shows the genuine promise of going further than ever before, being more than the “one man club” they were with Wilfried Zaha a decade or so ago.
Can Crystal Palace beat Manchester City?
The recent head-to-head stats are grim reading for Palace fans, with City unbeaten in their last seven meetings with Crystal Palace in all competitions (W4 D3), since a 2-0 loss in the Premier League in October 2021. What fans of the Eagles can take, however, is how they performed against Villa in the semi-final AND how they played against City last time out.
City won the last game 5-2, but Palace went up 0-2 at the Etihad before then losing the game. Yes, having City put five past you at home is a drubbing, but you have to consider the context: it was a Premier League game ahead of a run against Newcastle and Bournemouth just a few days after, easily more winnable games. On top of that, it was what conventionally could be seen as a throwaway game, and, Palace have nothing to go for in the league. What they did have was more winnable games and a promising FA Cup run ahead of them, and keeping most of their top players fit has led to this final.
If Palace find themselves 2-0 up against City in the FA Cup final, then it will be a completely different situation. Palace need to win this game to keep their best players and, arguably, their manager at the club. This is a huge game for the red and blue, so Palace need to play their counter-attacking game to perfection and defend for their lives on Saturday evening. This could be the start of Palace as a major force in English football, they just need to beat one of the best teams in the world to do it. Easy, right?
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