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£550,000-a-week trio benched as five academys stars involved - Crystal Palace v Man City…

Crystal Palace and Manchester City will go head-to-head in the FA Cup Final on Saturday evening at Wembley Stadium, with both sides looking to top off their seasons with a trophy.

Oliver Glasner's side made it to the final thanks to a 3-0 win over Aston Villa in the semi-final, and come into the game on the back of a 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League last time out. Pep Guardiola's outfit on the other hand claimed a 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest in their semi-final clash to reach a third consecutive FA Cup final, but they come into this game after a disappointing 0-0 draw with Southampton last weekend.

Both sides have some injury concerns ahead of the game leaving the manager's with some big decisions to make, and this is how GIVEMESPORT expect the teams to line up.

Crystal Palace Team News

Wharton should be available

Adam Wharton in action for Crystal Palace

Influential midfielder Adam Wharton missed the clash against Tottenham last week with a minor ankle injury, and the expectation is that he will return for the game and be available for selection.

Cheick Doucoure and Chadi Riad are ruled out for the rest of the season but Glasner has a fully-fit squad outside of that to choose from.

Crystal Palace Injuries and Suspensions

Player

Adam Wharton

Cheick Doucoure

Chadi Riad

Glasner Drops Team News Update

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Glasner shared an update on the squad ahead of the game.

"Positive team news, everybody is fit. Adam Wharton trained all week and is available, and all the others too. Some tough decisions to take, but good decisions to take."

Crystal Palace Predicted XI

Wharton and Eze to start

Eberechi Eze in action for Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace Predicted XI: Henderson; Richards, Lacroix, Guehi; Munoz, Wharton, Lerma, Mitchell; Sarr, Mateta, Eze.

Crystal Palace Predicted Substitutes: Turner (GK), Clyne (DEF), Chilwell (DEF), Kamada (MID), Hughes (MID), Devenny (MID), Nketiah (FWD), Esse (FWD), Franca (FWD).

Glasner rarely makes big changes to his team and his preferred lineup is well known, so he is likely to go with that - with Wharton coming into the side ahead of Will Hughes.

That means £250,000-a-week duo Daichi Kamada and loanee Ben Chilwell will be named on the bench once more for the game too, as the Eagles look to claim the first major trophy in their history.

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Manchester City Team News

Stones and Ake out

john stones

Man City will be without regular defensive duo John Stones and Nathan Ake for the game, while winger Oscar Bobb is also unlikely to be available after suffering a broken leg back in August.

Rodri is also still unavailable although he has returned to training following his ACL injury, with the Spaniard pushing to feature in the Club World Cup this summer.

Man City Injuries and Suspensions

Player

Oscar Bobb

John Stones

Nathan Ake

Rodri

Guardiola Drops Team News Update

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Guardiola shared an update on the squad ahead of the game.

"It’s the same as last week.

"He [Rodri] is much, much better. I will, speak to doctors. When he is ready, he will start. We don’t want to tackle a step back now. I am thinking just about tomorrow’s game.

“We then have a final on Tuesday against Bournemouth. We pick the team that is best to beat them.”

Man City Predicted XI

Haaland to start

erling haaland

Man City Predicted XI: Ederson; Lewis, Dias, Akanji, Gvardiol; Kovacic, Gundogan; Savinho, De Bruyne, Marmoush; Haaland.

Man City Predicted Substitutes: Ortega-Moreno (GK), O'Reilly (DEF), Nunes (MID), B. Silva (MID), Gonzalez (MID), Grealish (FWD), Doku (FWD), Foden (FWD), McAtee (FWD).

With a chance to ensure the team don't end the season trophyless, Guardiola is likely to take minimal risks with his starting lineup and that should see Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne and Omar Marmoush all named in the side.

That will leave academy stars O'Reilly, Foden and McAtee on the bench alongside £300,000-a-week forward Jack Grealish to provide depth.

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