Crystal Palace vs Man City Preview and Prediction: A Cruel Last-Minute Scenario

Latest Crystal Palace vs Man City team news

Crystal Palace's Adam Wharton missed last weekend's win against Spurs with an ankle sprain, but manager Glasner confirmed the midfielder has trained all week and is ready to play. Meanwhile, Chadi Riad and Cheick Doucoure remain sidelined with long-term knee injuries.

If Wharton starts, either Will Hughes or Jefferson Lerma may have to make way for him in midfield. Daichi Kamada is also another option for midfield.

Eze is in excellent form with five goals in his last four games and has been involved in four goals in this season's FA Cup (three goals, one assist). He is expected to play further up the pitch alongside Ismaila Sarr – who scored a brace in the semi-final against Aston Villa.

Eddie Nketiah – who won the FA Cup with Arsenal in 2020 – is also an attacking option, having been involved in three goals in the last three FA Cup matches (two goals, one assist), but Jean-Philippe Mateta, with 17 goals this season, is likely to remain in the starting lineup. The defense will almost certainly remain unchanged, protecting goalkeeper Dean Henderson – a former Man United player.

On the Manchester City side, they will continue to be without Rodri (anterior cruciate ligament injury/fitness), Nathan Ake (foot injury), Oscar Bobb (hamstring), and John Stones (thigh). However, the first three are showing positive signs of recovery.

Manager Guardiola may recall Nico O'Reilly and Matheus Nunes to play as makeshift defenders. O'Reilly is a standout young star in this season's FA Cup, having scored three goals and provided two assists in five games – second only to Josh Magennis of Exeter City (six assists).

Kevin De Bruyne – who has an impressive record in the FA Cup – is likely to start in his fourth and final FA Cup final for Man City. The Belgian midfielder has been involved in four goals in the three previous finals (one goal, three assists). Mateo Kovacic, Ilkay Gundogan, Bernardo Silva and Nico Gonzalez will compete for places alongside De Bruyne in midfield.

Following a lackluster performance against Southampton, Phil Foden and James McAtee could be replaced by Jeremy Doku and Omar Marmoush. Up front, Erling Haaland is almost certain to start – he has scored 30 goals in 41 games this season and six in the four matches against Palace. However, Haaland has yet to score in his five appearances at Wembley for Man City – three of which were in the FA Cup.

Latest predicted lineups for Crystal Palace vs Man City

Crystal Palace:
Henderson; Richards, Lacroix, Guehi; Munoz, Hughes, Wharton, Mitchell; Eze, Sarr; Mateta

Manchester City:
Ederson; Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O'Reilly; Kovacic, Bernardo; Doku, De Bruyne, Marmoush; Haaland

Latest Crystal Palace vs Man City football match preview

Will Crystal Palace be lucky for a third time, or will their run of bad luck against Manchester teams continue? The Eagles have reached the FA Cup final for the third time in history, after two defeats against Manchester United in 1990 and 2016. They are among four teams to have reached 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 side comfortably advanced to Wembley after overcoming Stockport County, Doncaster Rovers, Millwall, Fulham and Aston Villa. They conceded only one goal throughout the tournament and scored exactly three goals in their last three matches, including a convincing 3-0 victory over Villa in the semi-final three weeks ago.

Since then, Palace have extended their unbeaten run to five matches, with a 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest and a 2-0 victory away at Tottenham Hotspur thanks to an impressive brace from star player Eberechi Eze.

Currently ranked 12th in the Premier League and having the same number of points as last season (49) with two games in hand, Palace are temporarily putting aside hopes of finishing in the top 10 to aim for historic glory. If they win the FA Cup, they will not only engrave their name in history but also secure a place in the Europa League next season – the last time they participated in a European cup was in 1998 (Intertoto Cup).

Before the match, Glasner insisted his players were "training as usual" and argued there was "no reason" to change their preparation during this crucial week, as it would "only confuse them further."

Cheered on by over 30,000 Palace fans, Glasner and his players will try to end their seven-match winless streak against Man City (3 draws, 4 losses), which began five weeks ago when they lost 2-5 at the Etihad despite leading by two goals within the first 21 minutes.

Palace have also lost three of their last four FA Cup encounters with Man City – their only victory coming in their first meeting in the FA Cup first round in January 1921 (2-0). However, they have won three of their last five finals in all competitions, including two wins in the Championship promotion playoffs (1997 and 2013) and the now-defunct Full Members' Cup (1991).

Man City have become the first team in English football history to reach both major domestic cup finals three seasons in a row – they previously reached the EFL Cup final four seasons in a row from 2017-18 to 2020-21, and are now preparing to enter their third consecutive FA Cup final.

Indeed, Wembley has become their “second home,” having played under the iconic roof 30 times since 2011 – seven more than any other team. Last month, Guardiola’s side reached their seventh consecutive FA Cup semi-final – a record – beating Nottingham Forest 2-0, following wins against Salford City, Plymouth Argyle, Leyton Orient and Bournemouth in the earlier rounds.

The FA Cup is Man City's only chance to win a domestic trophy this season, after their four-year Premier League dominance ended in a turbulent 2024-25 season. They are looking to finish the season with a win against Palace and a top-five finish.

A Champions League spot is still up in the air, especially after the disappointing goalless draw against already-relegated Southampton in the previous round. If Chelsea and Aston Villa (currently just behind, two points behind) win their upcoming matches against Man United and Tottenham respectively, Man City could drop to sixth place.

Although there may be an intention to rest players for the match against Bournemouth next Tuesday in the Premier League, Guardiola's focus will almost certainly be on the 14th FA Cup final in the club's history. If they win, they will have their eighth FA Cup title and be level with Liverpool, Chelsea and Spurs – only behind Arsenal (14) and Man United (13).

Man City are currently on a 10-match unbeaten run across all competitions (7 wins, 3 draws), and they have won their last three FA Cup encounters against Palace with a combined score of 18-4, including an 11-4 victory in the fifth round of 1926 – the highest-scoring match in Man City's history.

Following their defeat to Manchester United in last season's FA Cup final, City want to avoid losing two consecutive domestic finals – something that has only happened before in 1926 and 1933, when they lost to Bolton and Everton respectively.

Latest Crystal Palace vs Man City score prediction

Based on the above football analysis, we and leading football websites worldwide have provided our predictions for the match.Crystal Palace vs Man Cityas follows:

• Sportsmole:Crystal Palace 0-2 Man City

• WhoScore:Crystal Palace 1-2 Man City
• Our newspaper predicts:Crystal Palace 1-2 Man City

When and where can I watch Crystal Palace vs Man City live?

To watch the Crystal Palace vs Man City match in the FA Cup live at 10:30 PM on May 17th, viewers can tune in to the following channels:K+ Sport,K+PMor online sports channels. We hope you enjoy watching football.