The two sides go head-to-head in a bid for FA Cup glory
Crystal Palace and Man United square off today in a bid to win the FA Cup.
If Palace claim the victory, it will be the first time in their history that they have won the trophy, so the club’s players and fans will be hoping to write their names in the history books with a win today.
Man United on the other hand will be hoping to end their season with a cup final win. They haven’t had their best season in the league, so they’ll be hoping to at least partly make up for it with an FA Cup final win today.
Team Lineups
The two team line-ups have now been announced and here they are:
Crystal Palace Starting 11: Hennessey; Ward, Dann, Delaney, Souare; Zaha, Cabaye, McArthur, Jedinak, Bolasie; Wickham.
Subs:Â Speroni, Kelly, Mariappa, Sako, Puncheon, Gayle, Adebayor.
Bolasie will be a key player for Palace, as they look to create the attacks that can cause United problems. Wickham also gets the nod over Adebayor and he too will be hoping to bang in a goal or two, in a bid to bring Palace the trophy.
The bench also looks rather strong too – not only is Adebayor on the bench but they also have Gayle – who, at times this season, has been fantastic for the club – Puncheon and Sako, who can all make an impact as substitutes.
Man United Starting 11:Â De Gea, Valencia, Smalling, Blind, Rojo, Carrick, Fellaini, Mata, Rooney, Martial, Rashford
Subs:Â Romero, Darmian, Jones, Schneiderlin, Herrera, Young, Lingard.
United have also fielded a very strong starting eleven, with in-form Rashford and Martial both spearheading the attack for the Red Devils. They also have Rooney and Mata behind them in the midfield to help pull the strings.
Schneiderlin and Lingard are arguably the two impact subs here, with Schneiderlin able to come on and help control the midfield and Lingard able to bring the creativity off the bench that could lead to goals.
It’s no question that both teams are most definitely up for this final, with both sides fielding strong teams.
Key Stats and Info
Things don’t look good for Crystal Palace against United if you look at the stats – The Red Devils are undefeated in their last ten matches against palace in all competitions and they have also kept a clean sheet in five of their last six games in all competitions against the Eagles.
However, Palace have been strong in the FA Cup this year compared to in the league and they will no doubt give it their all in a bid to bring home the trophy. They’ve been winning at both half time and full time in six of their last eight FA Cup matches.
A lot of eyes – and perhaps more pressure – will be focused on Louis Van Gaal and United though.
After a rather disappointing year for the club in the league, LVG will be hoping to win the FA Cup, so that the fans have something to cheer about. If they do end up losing, then it could truly spell the end at Old Trafford for the former Netherlands manager.
