Julius OkorieIt will be different strokes for different folks on Saturday as seven-time winners Manchester City battle first title hopefuls Crystal Palace in the 144th FA Cup final at Wembley.
One Match Different Desires:
Join our WhatsApp ChannelWhile the Citizens will have eyes fixed on consolidating and increasing the tally as they seek the 8th title, The Eagles will be hoping to lay hand on the elusive trophy to register among teams that boast of at least one FA cup title in the kitty.
Should the Eagles triumph, it will be their first-ever piece of major silverware in their 120-year existence as a professional club.
Road To The Final:
Crystal Palace defeated Aston Villa 3-0 at home in their last match, their fifth FA Cup victory in a row this season. Ismaïla Sarr led the team with a brace. They are unbeaten in their last five games in all competitions heading into the contest against Manchester City.
Manchester City on the other hand defeated Nottingham Forest 2-0 at Wembley Stadium in their last match, their fifth FA Cup victory in a row this season. Going into Saturday’s match, they are undefeated in their last 10 games in all competitions.
When the two sides last met in April, Manchester City triumphed 5-2 in a Premier League match at Etihad Stadium.
Kevin De Bruyne opened the scoring for City in the 33rd minute. Omar Marmoush, Mateo Kovacic, James McAtee, and Nico O’Reilly were all on the scoresheet. Eberechi Eze and Chris Richards found the net for the Eagles.
Bragging Right:
Manchester City have got the better of Crystal Palace of late, unbeaten in their last seven matches and will be hoping to continue this tradition.
The odds weigh heavily against Crystal Palace, who are looking for their first win in fixtures between the two clubs since October 2021.
City, have outscored the Eagles 18-10 during their unbeaten streak.
Eze and Sarr have caught the eye for Crystal Palace in FA Cup play. The two players are the team’s joint top scorers with three goals, tied for the third highest in the competition’s scoring charts.
Eze has scored the critical first goal of the match three times. O’Reilly and McAtee have been Manchester City’s main attacking threats in the current FA Cup campaign, each netting three times. They are tied for third among the competition’s top scorers in 2024/2025.
In their last six matches in all competitions, Crystal Palace have won two, drawn three and lost one. They scored eight and conceded eight in that stretch, scoring first in three of the six contests.
They had three first-half goals, while their opponents netted six times in the first 45 minutes. Manchester City have won five and drawn one in their last six.
They scored 12 and conceded three over that period, netting first in four of the six. They had five goals in the first half, while their opponents netted three times before the break.
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The big question is, will it be third time lucky for Crystal Palace or is more Manchester misery on the horizon?
Another Manchester Head Hurdle:
The Eagles have progressed to their third FA Cup final having lost the previous two to Manchester United in 1990 and 2016 – they are one of four clubs to compete in two finals without ever winning the trophy along with Queen’s Park (1884 and 1885), Birmingham City (1931 and 1956) and Watford (1984 and 2019).
Oliver Glasner’s men have breezed through to the Wembley showpiece courtesy of victories against Stockport County, Doncaster Rovers, Millwall, Fulham and Aston Villa.
Ahead of the final, Glasner has insisted that it is “business as usual” for his Palace players in training and it “makes no sense” to approach this pivotal week in the club’s history differently, as it “would just make them dizzy”.
In front of over 30,000 Palace supporters, Glasner and co will endeavour to end a seven-game winless run against Man City (D3 L4), one that was extended just five weeks ago when they suffered a 5-2 Premier League defeat at the Etihad Stadium, despite taking a two-goal lead in the opening 21 minutes.
Man City have become the first team in English football history to reach the final of both major domestic cup competitions three seasons running – they reached the EFL Cup final in four successive campaigns between 2017-18 and 2020-21, and they are now gearing up for their third consecutive FA Cup showpiece.
Indeed, the Citizens have made Wembley their second home as they have played under the iconic arch a whopping 30 times since 2011, at least seven more than any other team. Pep Guardiola’s side competed in a record seventh straight FA Cup semi-final at the end of last month, beating Nottingham Forest by a 2-0 scoreline, after getting the better of Salford City, Plymouth Argyle, Leyton Orient and Bournemouth in the previous four rounds.
The FA Cup represents Man City’s only chance of winning major domestic silverware this season, as their unprecedented four-year dominance at the Premier League summit has come to an end in what has been a turbulent 2024-25 campaign, one they hope to end on a high by beating Palace this weekend and securing a top-five finish.
While some may argue that Guardiola will have one eye on next Tuesday’s important PL clash against Bournemouth, Man City’s primary focus is fact likely to be on their 14th FA Cup final appearance.
Victory on Saturday would see the Citizens lift their eighth FA Cup and draw level with Liverpool, Chelsea and Spurs, while only Arsenal (14) and Man United (13) have ever won more.
The odds favour Manchester City to seal this one unless of course the Eagles spring a surprise in line with the saying that anything indeed can happen in football.
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
