Manchester City chase their only chance of silverware this season as they face a tough match against Crystal Palace at Wembley.
The Blues will no doubt start as favourites, but Palace are no pushovers and will look to go one better than their previous FA Cup Finals in 1990 and 2016, when they lost both to Manchester United. The Blues beat Palace 5-2 at the Etihad Stadium in April after coming back from 2-0 down and the two teams played out an entertaining 2-2 at Selhurst Park earlier in the season,
With the FA Cup as the prize for the winners, both teams will put those results out of their mind when they take to the hallowed turf of Wembley on Saturday afternoon.
Form
Palace haven’t had the best of runs since their 5-2 beating at the Etihad Stadium in April. They lost the following match 5-0 at Newcastle, then played out a goalless draw at home to Bournemouth, then scuppered Arsenal’s chances of winning the league with a 2-2 draw at the Emirates Stadium.
However, Palace rallied to beat Aston Villa 3-0 at Wembley in their semi-final to secure their return for the season showpiece. A 1-1 draw at home to Nottingham Forest was followed with a 2-0 victory over Spurs at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Ones to Watch
Jean-Phillipe Mateta is Palace’s top scorer and the main threat to the City defence. From 67 shots in a Palace shirt, Mateta has scored 14 times in 34 games. However, the French striker hasn’t scored in the FA Cup this season and City will be hoping Mateta continues that run on Saturday.
Ismiala Sarr and Eberechi Eze have both chipped in with seven goals this season, with both also contributing to Palace’s cup run with three goals each.
Eze looks like being the man to stop in midfield, having claimed eight assists so far and has created 11 big chances. From defence, Tyrick Mitchell has four assists and Daniel Munoz has five, showing that Palace are an all round team, rather than providing just chances from the middle.
The Boss
Oliver Glasner is the man leading the Crystal Palace revolution. The Austrian has been in charge at Selhurst Park since February 2024 and looks to have brought some stability to the club. Glasner has overseen 58 matches, winning 27 and losing 15, giving him an impressive win ratio of 57%.
This Season Against Palace
At the beginning of December, City twice came from behind to secure a point at Selhurst Park, but conceded a goal after just four minutes. In April, City last eight minutes before Palace scored. they grabbed a second on 21 minutes but ended up on the losing side as City stormed back to win 5-2.