Crystal Palace vs Man City – FA Cup final preview and team news

The Football Faithful

·17 May 2025

Crystal Palace vs Man City – FA Cup final preview and team news

Crystal Palace and Man City will contest the 144th FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium this afternoon.

The Eagles are aiming to lift the trophy for the first time ever while City are searching for their eighth success in the competition’s history.

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Palace will be able to call upon their midfield metronome Adam Wharton after the 21-year-old recovered from an ankle injury. In his pre-match press conference, manager Oliver Glasner confirmed that Wharton has trained without restriction all week.

Aside from long-term absentees Cheick Doucoure and Chadi Riad, the south London outfit are operating with a fully fit squad. Ismaila Sarr was the hero in the semi final with a brace in the 3-0 victory over Aston Villa and the Senegalese international will be hoping to emulate that performance today.

Man City will be desperate to make up for last season’s defeat in the final to bitter rivals Manchester Untied and end an underwhelming season with silverware.

Pep Guardiola has some decisions to make regarding his team selection, particularly between the sticks. Goalkeepers Ederson and Stefan Ortega have been frequently rotated in this competition, with the latter starting the semi-final. Elsewhere, Erling Haaland is likely to be City’s focal point after making his first start in six weeks last Saturday.

Central defenders John Stones and Nathan Ake are unable to contribute while Ballon d’Or winner Rodri remains out.

Crystal Palace vs Man City: FA Cup final preview

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Crystal Palace: DDWDW

Palace extended their unbeaten streak to five matches last Sunday courtesy of a 2-0 victory away to Tottenham Hotspur. An Eberechi Eze brace secured the three points for the Eagles, who could have won by a much larger margin.

Last weekend’s results confirmed that Palace won’t finish lower than 12th position in the Premier League. It is a respectable achievement for Oliver Glasner and his players considering their abysmal start to the campaign.

However, their attention will now be firmly on winning Palace’s first major trophy in the club’s 164-year history. Victory in the final would also earn them Europa League qualification and their first venture into continental football.

Read – Crystal Palace predicted lineup vs Man City ahead of FA Cup final

Manchester City: WWWWD

Man City’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League were dealt a big blow last weekend as they played out a goalless draw with relegated Southampton. Their wealth of attacking talent couldn’t break down the Saints’ spirited resistance on what was a frustrating day on the south coast for the Cityzens.

The shock result has allowed allowed Newcastle, Chelsea and Aston Villa to overtake them in the table. Pep Guardiola’s side have currently accumulated 65 points, one shy of the three aforementioned teams, albeit City have a game in hand on the latter two.

Amidst the uncertainty in the league, the blue half of Manchester must switch their focus to this afternoon’s final. Victory would move them level with Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur on eight FA Cup wins.

Read – Man City predicted lineup and team news vs Crystal Palace

What time is kick-off?

The FA Cup final will kick off at 16:30 BST on Saturday, 17 May 2025, at Wembley Stadium, London, England.

Who is the referee?

Stuart Attwell will be the match official. Adam Nunn and Dan Robathan will assist him while Darren England will be the fourth official. The VAR will be Jarred Gillett and he will be assisted by Darren Cann.

Predicted Line-ups

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

Manchester City XI: Ortega, Nunes, Dias, Akanji, Gvardiol; Kovacic, Gundogan; Silva, De Bruyne, Marmoush, Haaland.

What TV channel will Crystal Palace vs Man City be on?

The FA Cup final will be shown on BBC One, ITV1, BBC iPlayer and ITVX.

Crystal Palace vs Man City betting odds

Crystal Palace: 3/1

Draw: 11/4

Manchester City: 5/6

Last Meeting: Man City 5-2 Crystal Palace, Premier League, 12 April 2025

Last month, Man City emphatically came from behind to beat Crystal Palace 5-2 at the Etihad Stadium.

It was a ruthless start from the visitors as they struck twice in the opening stages. Eberechi Eze tapped in from close-range before Chris Richards’ header from a corner silenced the home crowd.

Eze then delightfully curled in a third for the Eagles only to be denied by the linesman’s flag for a marginal offside. It was a massive reprieve for City, who were mere bystanders to the onslaught.

The hosts relied on their skipper to regain control of the contest and prevent a humiliating result.

Minutes after hitting the upright from distance, Kevin De Bruyne’s 25-yard free kick hit the same post. However, this time it ricocheted favourably for the Belgian and into the net.

It was a quick-fire double from Pep Guardiola’s side to restore parity in an instant. Hesitant defending from Palace allowed Omar Marmoush to volley home with conviction to level the scores.

City carried over their momentum into the second period and completed their comeback within two minutes of the restart. Despite slipping, Mateo Kovacic managed to pick out the bottom corner with a drilled effort.

Oliver Glasner and his players looked stunned and their opponents took advantage with ‘Route One’ football. Ederson’s raking pass travelled across the majority of the pitch and was controlled by James McAtee. The City academy graduate beat Dean Henderson to the ball, before composing himself and rolling into the empty net. It was Ederson’s seventh assist in the competition’s history, a new Premier League record.

Another academy product capped off the five-star display as Nico O’Reilly side-footed in City’s fifth.

It was a strong statement from the reigning champions, while Palace returned home with feelings of regret.

Read – The last five teams to lift the FA Cup for the first time