Key events
“Hi Rob,” says Simon McMahon. “Just back from a dramatic afternoon at Tannadice in time for the cup final, and after Broughty United AFC’s North of Tay cup final win last night, it’s been quite the weekend so far.
“After four straight defeats, Dundee United secured European football with a come from behind win against Aberdeen on the last day to leapfrog the Dons into fourth place. A glorious end to our first season back in the Scottish Premiership after promotion last year.
“It’s why I watch football, and also why I hope Palace win today. Blair Geddes, a massive United fan and Broughty’s own version of Dave Narey, missed today’s game because he is en route to Manchester to see Springsteen. United certainly ‘bossed’ Aberdeen today, just like Broughty did to Stobswell last night. What a day/weekend! Come on the Uniteds! And Palace. Glory Days indeed.”
In an unrelated question, what time did the bar open at Tannadice the morn?
It’s nearly time for action on a gorgeous May afternoon in north London. Talking of which…
“Is it time,” begins John Tumbridge, “for my annual email pointing out that, despite the promises before the stadium was built, that pitch is not perfectly lit by the sun at 3pm on in early May?”
The players are about to emerge for the pre-match formalities. These are the two teams.
Crystal Palace (3-4-2-1) Henderson; Richards, Lacroix, Guehi; Munoz, Wharton, Kamada, Mitchell; Sara, Eze; Mateta.
Substitutes: Turner, Ward, Lerma, Nketiah, Clyne, Hughes, Esse, Chilwell, Devenny.
Manchester City (possible 4-2-3-1) Ortega; Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly; Bernardo Silva, De Bruyne; Savinho, Marmoush, Doku; Haaland.
Substitutes: Ederson, Grealish, Gonzalez, Gundogan, Vitor Reis, Foden, Khusanov, Echeverri, Matheus Luiz.
Referee Stuart Attwell.
Jamie Jackson
In 2023-24 this Manchester football correspondent gave Phil Foden 10 out of 10 ‘for the season of his life’ when being Manchester City’s key player in their four-peat title triumph.
Today he is a sub only.
Jonathan Liew meets… Will Hughes
This is Palace’s third FA Cup final, following defeats against Manchester United in 1990 and 2016. Ed Aarons spoke to some of the players involved.
The frustrating thing is that we were seven minutes away from lifting the Cup after Ian Wright scored in extra time. If it had been a film, we would have won the game and it would have been one of the greatest achievements in sport. We’d been beaten 9-0 by the team that we had then beaten in the semi-final … That’s the sad thing – history is made by certain moments and Mark Hughes came up with that moment.
There have been six first-time FA Cup winners in the last 50 years. Palace are hoping to make it seven.
Southampton 1976
Ipswich 1978
Coventry 1987
Wimbledon 1988
Wigan 2013
Leicester 2021
Roy Keane on Adam Wharton (via ITV)
He always gives himself time. He always looks like he knows what he’s doing, he’s got a picture in his mind when he receives the ball. Very classy, he played really well in the semi-final. He’s always looking forward and he passes between the lines. I like everything about him.
Imagine being a 21-year-old holding midfielder and hearing that.
Oliver Glasner’s pre-match thoughts
It’s a special moment for all of us and we’re really looking forward to the game.
We expect City to have more of the ball, as they do against most teams, especially as they have picked a very attacking line-up. It’s a little bit similar to how Villa played, with lots of attacking players, but that gives you space for transitions. That’s what we need to wait for. We have to be very efficient when we get chances.
[On Adam Wharton] Adam reads the game so well and finds quick solutions in possession. We need to have the ball at times, otherwise the pressure increases and increases. Adam can bring the game forward but he’s also very good at reading and closing the opposition’s passing lanes. City always want to play in the pocket.
Everybody knows what we are playing for [the club’s first major trophy] so I didn’t need to raise it. Now isn’t the time to overthink or to overmotivated. We need to stick to the plan and stick to our strengths. We have confidence in our team and the way we are playing. This is what we want to show.
“It’s too bad Crystal Palace loaned him to Celtic because ‘It’s only Jeffrey Schlupp’ has got a great ring to it,” says Peter Oh, “and he’s a versatile multi-position player like Ray Parlour was.”
Never mind that: who’s the Tim Lovejoy among City’s celebrity fanbase? Oh yeah. Hi Noel!
It’s our third FA Cup final in a row, so that is already quite a big achievement. It’s a competition that means a lot to us. We’ve been defined by the Premier Leagues but I feel we’ve been defined by all of it: all the things we’ve got our hands on, for the way we played.
Pep’s pre-match thoughts
It’s better to be here than at home, that’s for sure. Listen, I know everything is a disaster [the way City’s season has been perceived] but we are here, so let’s enjoy it.
[Mateo Kovacic] didn’t feel perfect. We have a game on Tuesday and we don’t want to take a risk.
[Was it an easy decision to recall Haaland given your form without him?] With Erling Haaland we won the Treble. I don’t know if he’ll be able to play all the game.
[On Palace] They are strong at set-pieces and in transition, especially left to right. They have good quality, they can play; they are a really good team. In the second part of the season Oliver has done an incredible job.
Crystal Palace team news
No surprises in the Palace team: it’s the same XI that hammered Aston Villa in the semi-finals.
Crystal Palace (3-4-2-1) Henderson; Richards, Lacroix, Guehi; Munoz, Wharton, Kamada, Mitchell; Sara, Eze; Mateta.
Substitutes: Turner, Ward, Lerma, Nketiah, Clyne, Hughes, Esse, Chilwell, Devenny.
Man City team news
Pep Guardiola has picked an extremely attacking team, with no holding midfielder. Given Palace’s counter-attacking threat, that’s a fascinating decision – especially after what happened in the 2021 Champions League final.
Ah, it turns out Mateo Kovacic is injured, although City could still have picked Nico Gonzalez in that position.
Manchester City (possible 4-2-3-1) Ortega; Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly; Bernardo Silva, De Bruyne; Savinho, Marmoush, Doku; Haaland.
Substitutes: Ederson, Grealish, Gonzalez, Gundogan, Vitor Reis, Foden, Khusanov, Echeverri, Matheus Luiz.
Ed Aarons on the making of Crystal Palace’s impressive head coach
Glasner was preparing to face the Danish club Brøndby in a Europa League qualifier when he had a brain haemorrhage after a heading drill in training. He was taken to hospital in Copenhagen after pleading with a teammate with whom he was sharing a room to raise the alarm and needed an emergency operation to save his life. “It’s the last thing I can remember,” he said in an interview last month of asking his teammate to call a doctor. Glasner has spoken regularly about how that experience has shaped his fearless approach to management.
Since you asked, 12/15
From the archive
Wonder who it will be today. Ebere Eze? Nico O’Reilly?
Tim Lovejoy, commentating on the Sky Sports Fanzone service, feared for his beloved Blues. “Oh no!” he wailed. “He’s through.” But wait – more insight was on the way. Lovejoy had identified the Arsenal player in question and it was a false alarm. Panic over, calm down, Arsenal won’t be scoring here, time for some bantz. “Oh, it’s only Ray Parlour,” Lovejoy said dismissively, failing to remember that the Romford Pele had scorched a wondrous drive past Valencia’s Santiago Cañizares during a Champions League quarter-final a year earlier and also that he was good at football, so good that he was playing in central midfield in an FA Cup final for the league champions, four years after playing as a right winger in an FA Cup final for the league champions.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to live, minute-by-minute coverage of the FA Cup final between Crystal Palace and Manchester City. Since the FA Cup started to lose its lustre in the late 1990s, many finals have failed to get the juices flowing – and that’s just before the game. It is my abundant pleasure to tell you that today’s match is very different, a fascinating prospect and a delicious study in contrasts.
Palace are one of the deadliest counter-attacking teams around; City, even in such a disappointing season, remains England’s possession kings. Palace are dreaming of the first major trophy in their history; City are desperate to win their first major trophy this season. It’s a perfectly pitched contest – not a heavyweight clash but not David v Goliath either. Palace have a much greater chance than that little shepherd boy with the sling, and look what he managed.
Odd though it sounds, City’s 5-2 win over Palace last month provided a case for both teams to win today. Palace shredded City on the break in the first half hour and would have gone 3-0 up but for a marginal offside. City eventually responded like cornered tigers and won 5-2.
Kick off 4.30pm.
