Crystal Palace v Manchester City: FA Cup Final Tips & Predictions

Crystal Palace have never won the FA Cup but they will be hoping to make it third time lucky when they take on Manchester City in the final at Wembley this year.

The Eagles fell short in the 1990 and 2016 finals but they should have plenty of belief this time around, as they will be coming up against a Citizens team who have had a disappointing year by their own high standards.

Pep Guardiola’s men could still end the campaign on a high, however, as they have reached the FA Cup final for the third year in a row, beating rivals Manchester United two seasons ago before the Red Devils got their revenge last year.

Now they face Palace in what should be an intriguing encounter, and we have picked out three eye-catching bets to follow.

Tip 1: Both teams to score and over 2.5 goals @ 9/10

One common denominator in games between Manchester City and Crystal Palace in recent years has been end-to-end action.

Both teams have scored and over 2.5 goals have landed in five of the last six head-to-heads, and the last three meetings alone have produced 17 goals.

Whenever the Citizens reach the FA Cup final it tends to be an entertaining game too, as their last three appearances in this Wembley showpiece have seen 12 goals scored.

With Erling Haaland returning to the fold after injury, Guardiola’s side are approaching full strength in attacking areas, while Crystal Palace showed their threat going forward in their 3-0 semi-final win over Aston Villa.

This Wembley showpiece looks likely to be an entertaining game and both teams to score and over 2.5 goals is the pick.

Tip 2: Erling Haaland to score at any time @ 13/10

Erling Haaland set nearly every goalscoring record under the sun during his first two seasons at City and it was always going to be hard to maintain those standards.

A series of injuries have not helped the Norwegian, who returned from his latest complaint in the Citizens’ 0-0 draw with Southampton last time out.

Nevertheless, the 24-year-old has 30 goals in all competitions this season and it is extremely rare to find an instance of him being such a big price to find the net.

Take full advantage of that opportunity and side with Haaland to get on the scoresheet.

Tip 3: Eberechi Eze to score or assist @ 43/20

After the departure of Michael Olise, the emphasis was always going to be on Eberechi Eze to provide the creativity for this Crystal Palace side.

He has done just that this season with 13 goals and 11 assists in all competitions. The Eagles have excelled from set pieces - only Nottingham Forest have more Premier League goals from such situations in 2023-24 - and Eze is their primary taker.

As a result, he is fancied to either score or assist against a Manchester City backline that has looked weak at times from set plays.

Odds correct at time of publication but subject to fluctuation