This will be the 144th FA Cup final, and the teams that will be contesting it make for an interesting duo. Manchester City have been arguably England’s most successful and dominant team of the last decade, while Crystal Palace has never won a major trophy, with this being their best chance to write history.
Crystal Palace Team News
Crysal Palace’s FA Cup campaign was nothing short of spectacular, and they more than earned their place at Wembley for this game. Their third appearance at an FA Cup final will be marked, probably ominously, by them again facing opposition from Manchester. In the team’s previous 2 finals, they lost both times to Manchester United, but in both cases, Palace was far from being a pushover. However, now Oliver Glasner must go up against the other team from Manchester, who are having a poor season themselves, with the FA Cup being the only silverware they can win this season. Ahead of the final, Crystal Palace seems to be in good form, having been undefeated across their last 5 competitive fixtures, although winning just 2 of them.
Manchester City Team News
Manchester City’s season can be classified as a disappointment for a multitude of reasons. The team dropped out of the title race in the Premier League quite early and are yet to secure UCL football next season. Moreover, their continental campaign was also hugely underwhelming, with City exiting the tournament as early as the knockout phase play-offs. The FA Cup remains the only silverware that Pep Guardiola and his men can win this season, and fortunately for them, this is familiar territory. For Manchester City, this will be their third consecutive final in this competition. Guardiola’s team lost last year’s final to arch-rivals Manchester United and will be looking to write the wrongs of that loss, as well as make up for an underwhelming season.
Head-to-Head Games
Manchester City have an edge in the recent H2H statistics against Crystal Palace. Pep Guardiola’s men haven’t lost any of their last 7 bouts with Palace and have also managed to win 4 of them. The last 4 games between these two sides produced plenty of goals, with all of them passing the over 3.5 mark as well as seeing both sides on the scoreboard.
Crystal Palace – Manchester City Betting Prediction
Given that this is a final, both teams might be more cautious. Three of the last 6 FA Cup finals produced fewer than 3 goals. But what seems certain is that Crystal Palace will have to outdo themselves here to come on top. Their H2H record against City is far from good, and despite their commendable fight in previous FA Cup finals, I do not think that they will manage to snatch a win here against a City team that will be itching to win some silverware and attempt to make up for an underwhelming season.
With that being said, my pick here is for a Manchester City win. I believe that they will lean on their experience on such occasions, as well as a good H2H record against Palace.
Betting Tip: Manchester City To Win
Bookmaker: BC.Game
Odds: 1.87
BC.Game
Place your bet on Crystal Palace – Manchester City at BC.Game