by Mick the Ram
One of England’s biggest annual sporting occasions takes place this Saturday, 17 May, when Wembley Stadium plays host to the 153rd FA Cup Final.
Manchester City and Crystal Palace will meet in a proper north verses south contest, with Pep Guardiola’s side the very strong favourites to come out on top.
They were of course beaten finalists 12 months ago, suffering a double blow by not only losing, but doing so to their bitter rivals, Manchester United.
This is actually their third successive appearance in the final, with them winning the trophy in 2023, when it was they who claimed the city bragging rights, overcoming United quite comfortably, despite the 2-1 scoreline making the game seem much closer than it actually was.
This season has not gone according to plan for the Manchester outfit, so a cup win would go some way to softening the blow, but Palace will be all out to make sure that does not happen.
The South London club have never won a major trophy in their entire 119-year history, twice tasting defeat in the final, so they’ll be looking for a third time lucky scenario.
The Eagles boss Oliver Glasner will become the first Austrian to take charge of a team in an FA Cup final and he has made a tremendous impression on the side since taking charge just over a year ago.
The winners will receive £2,000,000, with the runners-up collecting £1,000,000 from the competition’s prize fund, but such are the riches in the Premier League these days, the money is in truth, of reduced importance.
It is the prestige of walking up the Wembley steps to lift the coveted trophy and getting the line “FA Cup winner” on a CV that is the greatest incentive for the players.
Even though Crystal Palace will start as underdogs, history has proved anything can happen in these finals.
Special competition
Even though the early rounds of the cup are perhaps not quite as popular as they used to be, once the latter stages arrive, then everybody takes the competition deadly seriously.
There remains a certain mystique attached to it and every now and then there is a year whereby it seems a particular team’s name is on the trophy from the start.
Name on the cup?
Several times in the past 50 years or so, there have been clubs who are nowhere near the top of the betting when the competition gets going, but they seem to get on a role and it almost feels that it is meant to be.
Sides like: Sunderland in the seventies, Coventry and Wimbledon in the eighties and more recently Wigan in 2013, just seemed destined to lift the cup in their respective years, from a very early stage.
Wigan of course gained their victory in the same year as they suffered relegation, but it just seemed to be their time to win the cup, and they did so by beating… Manchester City.
Nothing to lose
Crystal Palace, who have actually had a very good season anyway, will be fully aware that they pretty much have nothing to lose and will approach the game with great optimism.
They made it to the final courtesy of a very impressive semi-final win over Aston Villa, who themselves were flying at the time. The 3-0 win did not flatter the Londoners and with the outstanding form that Ebere Eze carries into the game, they will genuinely fancy their chances.
They play to a structure that suits them, with every player knowing their precise role and with pace and strength throughout the side, they have every right to feel confident.
Real talent in the squad
England internationals Marc Guehi and Adam Wharton are big players for the Selhurst Park club and the latter looks set to return after injury, which would be a big boost.
An unsung hero in the squad is Will Hughes who may not make the starting eleven, but his ability on the ball and reading of the game are hugely important and he could yet be a key component if Palace are to get the better of their much-fancied opponent.
Third time lucky?
This is their third FA Cup final, losing to Manchester United in both 1990 and 2016. They are one of only four clubs to compete in two finals without ever winning the cup.
They have played rounds five, six and the semi-final all in London (beating Millwall at home, Fulham away and Villa at Wembley), so they will look to continue that run on Saturday.
