Man City face Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final on SaturdayMan City face Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final on Saturday
Man City face Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final on Saturday | BBC Sport | Getty Images
Manchester City face Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final and here are the final pre-match predictions.
Manchester City have named their starting line up to face Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final on Saturday afternoon. Pep Guardiola has opted for a bold team selection full of attacking talent, with Erling Haaland and Omar Marmoush both selected from the start. Bernardo Silva and Kevin de Bruyne are the central midfield pairing with Savinho and Jeremy Doku selected in the wing roles.
It is a huge gamble from the City boss, who has made five changes from the goalless draw with Southampton with no recognised defensive midfielder selected. Ederson and Phil Foden have both dropped to the bench and Mateo Kovacic is not fit enough to be named in the squad. Rico Lewis and James McAtee have both been overlooked completely.
Crystal Palace XI: Henderson, Munoz, Richards, Lacroix, Guehi, Mitchell, Kamada, Wharton, Sarr, Eze, Mateta. Man City XI: Ortega, Akanji, Gvardiol, Dias, O'Reilly, Silva, De Bruyne, Savinho, Doku, Marmoush, Haaland.
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Rooney and Shearer make FA Cup final predictions
Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney and Newcastle hero Alan Shearer are both pundits for the match on behalf of the BBC. The pair hope to see an exciting clash at Wembley Stadium but are both expecting the same full-time outcome from the match.
Speaking ahead of kick-off, they were both asked for their FA Cup final predictions. "There's more pressure on Palace. The fact that they have never won a trophy in the history of the club," Rooney told BBC Sport. "To have that pressure on your shoulders, and people are expecting them to go and beat Man City - it is crazy. City in my opinion are favourites. If City turn up they will win the game."
Shearer agreed with the prediction and cited City's added experience as the key reason they were favourites to win the match instead of Crystal Palace. He told BBC Sport: "I make Man City favourites just because of their experience and knowledge in cup finals. I see it being very exciting with lots of goals and a great game to watch."
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