The recipient of the final piece of silverware of the 2024/25 English season will be decided at Wembley Stadium this weekend, as Manchester City face Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final.
City are the favourites as they seek an eighth FA Cup, while Palace are looking for their first ever major trophy. Who will come out on top?
Crystal Palace vs Manchester City best bets
- Crystal Palace to lift the trophy – 15/8 with Spreadex
- Both teams to score – 7/10 with Ladbrokes
- Ebere Eze to score any time – 10/3 with Paddy Power
Crystal Palace vs Manchester City odds
Find the latest match odds for Crystal Palace vs Manchester City. All odds are provided by our best football betting sites. Odds are subject to change.
Crystal Palace vs Manchester City predictions
Manchester City are making a habit of this. Saturday’s FA Cup final will be their third in a row following appearances in 2023 and 2024.
City were victorious over Manchester United in the first of those matches, before losing to the same opponents this time 12 months ago. They are the favourites to lift the trophy this weekend.
On the whole, this has been a disappointing season for City. Pep Guardiola’s side started pretty well and were still seen as the leading candidates for the Premier League title at the beginning of November.
Then it all fell apart. Four league defeats on the bounce opened the door to Liverpool and Arsenal, both of whom surged past City. Between November 2 and Boxing Day, the defending champions won just one of nine top-flight matches.
They fared little better in the Champions League. City only just scraped into the play-offs after winning one of their final five league phase encounters. Guardiola’s men were promptly dumped out by Real Madrid before the round of 16.
Yet City can still salvage something from 2024/25. They are on course to qualify for the Champions League by finishing in the top five. And many people fancy them to win the FA Cup for the eighth time in the club’s history.
For Crystal Palace, this is one of the biggest games of their 120-year existence. The Eagles are arguably the biggest club in England to have never won a major tournament.
They have reached the FA Cup final twice before, in 1990 and 2016, but lost to Manchester United on both occasions. Palace fans are praying it will be third time lucky on Saturday.
They might be in the bottom half of the table, but Palace have been the Premier League’s sixth-best performers since Boxing Day. City have collected just five more points than Oliver Glasner’s charges over that period.
City beat Palace 5-2 at the Etihad Stadium last month. The visitors stormed into a 2-0 lead in and had chances to go 3-0 up, but City produced a fantastic performance to turn things around.
Guardiola’s side have certainly picked up of late, but a 0-0 draw with Southampton last weekend showed they are still far from their best. This is all set up to be a cracking FA Cup final.
Crystal Palace vs Manchester City betting tips
The FA Cup trophy is up for grabs as Crystal Palace take on Manchester City at Wembley.
Crystal Palace to lift the trophy
Crystal Palace were hugely impressive in their 3-0 victory over Aston Villa in the semi-final. Glasner has taken the cup competitions seriously this season and his approach has paid off spectacularly.
There is an argument to be made that Palace are in a false position in the Premier League. The underlying numbers, namely expected goal difference, have them down as the division’s seventh-best team this term.
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Palace play with verve and energy, and they are among the most effective pressers in England. City have looked leggy for much of the campaign and Palace could exploit that.
Of course, Guardiola’s side deserve to be favourites. They have more individual quality at their disposal and more players capable of changing a game with a moment of magic.
But after a 120-year wait, this could be Palace’s day of glory.
Tip Crystal Palace to lift the trophy at 15/8 with Spreadex
Both teams to score
For all their issues this season, this Manchester City team still knows where the goal is.
Only Liverpool and Newcastle United have outscored them in the Premier League, while City’s FA Cup matches have yielded 17 goals.
At the same time, it is much easier to create chances against Guardiola’s team than it was in previous campaigns.
Even when they have kept a clean sheet, such as in the semi-final against Nottingham Forest, City have not looked entirely convincing at the back.
Crystal Palace’s front three of Ebere Eze, Ismaila Sarr and Jean-Philippe Mateta should have plenty of joy at Wembley.
Back both teams to score at 7/10 with Ladbrokes
Ebere Eze to score any time
For much of this season, Crystal Palace fans were frustrated with Eze’s inconsistent end product and questionable decision-making.
It is fair to say the England international has made amends over the last few weeks. Eze has been magnificent in the run-in, scoring five goals in his last four games.
That tally includes a wonderstrike that set Palace on their way against Aston Villa in the semi-final, plus a brace against Tottenham Hotspur last time out.
Eze is back to his best and Manchester City will have their hands full in attempting to keep such a skilful player quiet.
Choose Ebere Eze to score any time at 10/3 with Paddy Power
How to watch Crystal Palace vs Manchester City
- Location: Wembley Stadium, London, England.
- Date and time: Saturday 17th May, 4.30pm.
- How to watch: BBC One and BBC iPlayer, ITV1 and ITVX.
Read more about the 2024/25 football season
About the author
Greg Lea
Greg Lea is a freelance football writer from London. He predominantly covers the Premier League and has had work published by the Guardian, FourFourTwo, ESPN and others.
Follow Greg on X: @GregLeaFootball
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