Crystal Palace look to stun Manchester City in their quest for a first FA Cup title as the pair collide in the 2024-25 FA Cup Final.
Victory would see Palace claim their first FA Cup title, whilst Man City are chasing an eighth crown in this competition – which would move them level with Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham in the all-time list.
Team News
Adam Wharton is available for Palace after he missed their league win at Tottenham due to an ankle injury.
Chadi Riad and Cheick Doucoure both remain absent with knee injuries.
Man City have no fresh injury concerns to report following their goalless draw at Southampton last weekend in the top flight.
Nathan Ake (foot), Oscar Bobb (hamstring), John Stones (thigh) and Rodri (knee) remain ruled out.
When is Kick-Off?
Palace meet City at Wembley Stadium, London, on Saturday 17 May at 4:30pm BST, live on BBC1 and ITV1 in the UK.
Route to the Final
Crystal Palace
Eberechi Eze’s fourth-minute winner saw Palace scrape past Stockport upon entry in the Third Round, before Daniel Munoz and Justin Devenny netted in a 2-0 victory at Doncaster in the Fourth Round.
Eddie Nketiah’s header sealed a fifth-round win over Millwall after Japhet Tanganga’s own-goal and Munoz’s effort put them in control prior to Wes Harding’s consolatory goal for the Lions, although Millwall lost Liam Roberts to an eighth-minute red card after a reckless foul on Jean-Philippe Mateta.
Eze, Ismaila Sarr and Nketiah then netted in a Quarter-Final triumph at London rivals, Fulham, before Eze fired the Eagles into the final with an eventual 3-0 semi-final win over Aston Villa which was capped by Sarr’s second-half brace.
| Round | Opposition | Venue | Result |
| 3 | Stockport | Home | 1-0 |
| 4 | Doncaster | Away | 0-2 |
| 5 | Millwall | Home | 3-1 |
| QF | Fulham | Away | 0-3 |
| SF | Aston Villa | Neutral | 3-0 |
Manchester City
City opened their FA Cup run in the Third Round with a ruthless 8-0 home win over Salford in which James McAtee netted a second-half hat-trick, after Jeremy Doku scored twice whilst Divin Mubama, Nico O’Reilly and Jack Grealish also netted.
Second-half goals from Abdukodir Khusanov and Kevin De Bruyne fired City to a comeback Fourth Round win at Leyton Orient following Stefan Ortega’s own-goal.
O’Reilly’s brace and De Bruyne wrapped up another comeback in the Fifth Round at home to Plymouth in a 3-1 victory after Maksym Talovierov’s shock lead for Argyle.
Omar Marmoush netted a 63rd-minute winner as City came from behind to win 2-1 away at Bournemouth in the Quarter-Finals, after Evanilson fired the Cherries ahead prior to Erling Haaland’s equaliser four minutes into the second-half.
Rico Lewis’ second-minute strike and Josko Gvardiol’s 51st-minute header saw City clinically dispatch Nottingham Forest in the semi-finals.
| Round | Opposition | Venue | Result |
| 3 | Salford | Home | 8-0 |
| 4 | Leyton Orient | Away | 1-2 |
| 5 | Plymouth | Home | 3-1 |
| QF | Bournemouth | Away | 1-2 |
| SF | Forest | Neutral | 2-0 |
Stat Attack
- Palace have won one of four previous FA Cup meetings against Man City (W1, L3).
- Man City have won one of two previous FA Cup ties against Palace when played as the ‘away’ team (W1, L1).
- Oliver Glasner’s Eagles are yet to beat Man City in any cup competition this century (L3), with their last win coming in January 1995 when they triumphed 4-0 at home in that season’s League Cup Quarter-Finals.
- Palace have conceded just one goal in this season’s FA Cup en-route to the final, which came in a 3-1 Fifth-Round victory over Millwall.
- James McAtee and Nico O’Reilly are City’s top goalscorers in this season’s FA Cup with three goals apiece.
Prediction
Considered favourites with neutrals despite being the clear underdogs, Palace have nothing to lose here if they bring the same intensity and passion as they did in the semi-final against Villa and in the league at Tottenham last weekend, whilst Europe will be another motivation for a team who have lost two previous finals.
Man City though will be fired up to get the title just to salvage their hardest season in years but they can’t afford to lack their usual sharp final touches which were largely absent in their last two games, although they did narrowly beat Wolves before a pretty weak draw at Southampton where they weren’t creative enough out wide.
If Palace can play with a similar defensive robustness but be powerful and energetic in their attacking press which saw them take the lead initially in both league meetings, I can see them this time snatching a deserved fairytale victory but City can’t be underestimated at all costs.
Prediction: Crystal Palace 2-1 Man City
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