By Alex Roberts
Palace overcame Aston Villa with a comfortable 3-0 win to get here while Man City beat high-flying Nottingham Forest to reach their third consecutive final, one of which they’ve won.
Kevin de Bruyne’s farewell tour
This will be the great Belgian’s last final as a Man City player. De Bruyne will leave the club he’s spent the past ten years at, winning six Premier League titles, five League Cups, two FA Cups, and a Champions League, once his contract expires at the end of the season.
He will be missed. After several injury issues this season, he’s back and his recent form has been key to City’s push towards Champions League qualification. In the FA Cup, he hasn’t featured as much, bagging two goals and providing one assist in his 254 minutes of action.
De Bruyne didn’t play against Forest, but Pep Guardiola has a sentimental side, he will get game time, and he will want to go out with a bang. Don’t be surprised to see his coach with tears in his eyes saying “we cannot replace him” after the final whistle.
A unique opportunity to make history
It’s hard to imagine a club like Palace, with a dedicated fanbase, and stability in the Premier League, have never won a piece of major silverware but it’s true. This current crop of players is arguably the most talented in their history, this is their chance to end that in what is the club’s third FA Cup final appearance.
The previous two came against the other Manchester club, remember Alan Pardew dancing in 2016? That backfired. A lot has happened since then. Marc Guéhi, Eberechi Eze, and Daniel Muñoz are three of the best players in their positions, this isn’t the David and Goliath story many may think it is.
Speaking of Eze, he’s found form at the perfect time. Ten goal contributions in his last ten games across all competitions, including five goals in his last four, make him one of the most in-form players in the land – if he drags Palace to an FA Cup win, they’ll have a statue of him outside the ground the week after.
Man City’s malfunctioning robot
Erling Haaland hasn’t been himself this season, although the same could be said for pretty much everyone at the club. Yes, he’s still scored 30 goals across all competitions but that’s not really what we’ve come to expect.
He’s freshly back from what many believed would be a season ending injury, but he was anonymous in the 0-0 draw with Southampton with only one shot, which was off-target, and 17 touches.
It’s a worrying sign that maybe he was rushed back, although he may well have just had a software update that improved his healing factor. It’s never smart to write Haaland off, he’s proven time and time again to be one of the best in the world, he just seems a little off at the moment.
The low down
Rodri’s long-awaited comeback from an ACL injury is close, but Guardiola has said that he is still waiting on the Doctors for the green light on his selection. So he, along with the likes of John Stones and Nathan Aké are likely to miss the Cup Final.
Palace reported better news in the week, with Adam Wharton back in training and available for selection following his return from an ankle injury. With City possibly eyeing him up a longterm replacement for Rodri, he’ll be keen to have an impact on the game.
Neither side have lost a game in their last five across all competitions but City have won two more. Don’t pay too much attention to that though, form goes out the window for the big one.
Prediction
There aren’t as may cup upsets as there used to be. Experience in these moments is key, City have been there and done it, so we’re going with 2-0 to them.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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