Cup Final Preview – Party in London or Manchester?
Crystal Palace and Manchester City are going head-to-head in the 2025 Cup Final, which will be played on Saturday, May 17, at Wembley Stadium.
The game is one of the most historic in English football, with the tournament being one of the world’s oldest competitions in association football. This year’s showdown will be the 144th time the final has been played, with it being the third in which Palace have appeared in the club’s history. For Pep Guardiola’s City, this it their third successive appearance after losing last season but winning the year before.
Let’s look ahead to the game with this Cup Final preview.
Route to the Final
Both teams entered the competition in the third round, as is standard for teams competing in England’s PL.
Palace managed to overcome Stockport County with a 1-0 victory in a home encounter, whereas Pep Guardiola’s side managed to thump lowly neighbours Salford City 8-0 at home. Both were on the road in the fourth round, once again against lower league opposition. City came through with a 2-1 victory against Leyton Orient, whereas Oliver Glasner’s side defeated Doncaster Rovers 2-0.
The fifth round saw both teams drawn at home, winning their respective fixtures once again. Palace swept past local rivals Millwall 3-1 in a game that saw the opposition goalkeeper kick Jean-Philippe Mateta in the head with a dangerous challenge. City would defeat Plymouth Argyle by the same scoreline, needing to come back from a goal down, like they did in the previous round.
Each quarter-final match took place away from home, but both came through potentially tricky ties against opposition in the same league. The Eagles swooped past fellow Londoners Fulham 3-0, whereas City would head to the south coast and beat AFC Bournemouth 2-1 victory (interestingly another game they went behind in).
The semi-finals saw Glasner’s side beat Aston Villa 3-0 at Wembley with an emphatic performance, whereas Guardiola’s would defeat Nottingham Forest 2-0 at the same venue a day later.
Tale of the Tape
Both teams will enter the competition in a positive fashion after the latest round of PL fixtures. Both have managed to produce consistently good performances, especially over the last few weeks.
The London outfit is currently on a run of five unbeaten matches after extending it with a win in the league at the weekend. In those five games, they’ve conceded just three goals, keeping three clean sheets and scoring eight.
The Manchester club has been equally good, if not better. They are unbeaten in their last 10, although results can be considered mixed, especially a surprising 0-0 draw against PL whipping boys Southampton on Saturday. Still, over the last five matches, City have recorded four wins and a draw, including four clean sheets (one goal conceded), and seven scored. In the Cup, they’ve shown bounce-back ability, which is something their opponents will have to be wary of.
Head-to-Head
Manchester City has 33 wins over Crystal Palace, with the Londoners holding just 16. There have been 17 draws. The last five have seen three wins for Guardiola’s side, with the latest coming just last month in a 5-2 demolition.
Guehi, Sarr & Eze Make Palace Difficult To Beat
Glasner has made his Crystal Palace team very difficult to beat recently, as shown by their recent form. The Eagles have a number of star players across the pitch who have all been performing, making them worthwhile contenders for the title on Saturday.
Marc Guehi continues to excel as the club’s captain and is at the heart of the defence. He has played every minute of the five games in this year’s tournament, helping them concede just one goal in the process.
In the attacking areas of the pitch, Palace are loaded with talent. While Mateta deserves an honourable mention, Ismaila Sarr and Eberechi Eze have both been outstanding for the majority of the season, especially in this competition. Both scored goals in the quarter-final and semi-final rounds, carrying their form from the league into the Cup. They both possess skill and pace, which can make them a handful for City’s defenders, especially as Guardiola’s side has shown a habit of conceding first.
Successful swansong for De Bruyne?
Given the riches Guardiola has available to him, every player on his team can make a huge difference on the pitch. Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku are two that should be kept an eye on closely, especially if the Spaniard decides to start them.
For De Bruyne, it will be his last chance to win a title as a Manchester City player, with the Belgian leaving at the end of the season. It will also be one of his last few games, with just three remaining. De Bruyne has good form in this year’s competition, scoring in the fourth and fifth rounds, while being a threat in the others, including an assist in the fifth round. He didn’t play in the semi-final showdown, but he could make a swansong-like appearance at Wembley.
Doku has also been in the goals and assists this year, getting two each in the third round. His chances of playing are slimmer than most, as he missed every game bar a nine-minute cameo in the semi-final. But, we can see him getting a chance here, with the expansive Wembley pitch offering chance for him to terrify the Palace defence with his pace.
Cup Final Odds
The latest Crystal Palace vs Man City odds are as follows (correct at time of writing):
Crystal Palace (4.33) – Draw (4.00) – Manchester City (1.80)
Guardiola’s side is backed heavily by our sportsbook in the odds to become the champions on Saturday, which would make it the eighth time they have won the competition.
It would be very difficult not to back City in this encounter, but there is a certain “magic” around this cup competition. With the perennial winners not having it all their way this season, perhaps history could be made by Palace, seeing them win their first major title in the club’s history.
Last Updated: 14.05.2025
