The FA Cup win will have a completely different meaning for Crystal Palace and Manchester City.
For Palace, this will be a sweet fruit after many years of smart transfers and careful planning under the management of President Steve Parish.
On the contrary, this is an opportunity for Man City to save their honor after a campaign that could be considered the worst under Pep Guardiola.
Palace were allowed to lose this final but Man City were not. While the main goal of the season is to qualify for the Champions League, two consecutive defeats in the FA Cup final will be a heavy blow to Guardiola.
In addition, another defeat will also affect the spirit of The Citizens in the two low-lying Premier League matches against Bournemouth and Fulham.
This could be Man City's first season without a trophy since the 2016-2019 campaign when Guardiola took charge. So far, this is the only season that the Spanish coach has not won any titles in his management career.
Recently, Man City seems to have regained their form with a series of 5 consecutive wins in all competitions. Notably, this streak started with a 5-2 victory over Palace at the Etihad last month.
However, many problems of The Citizens were revealed when they were held to a draw by bottom-placed Southampton last week. Man City even failed to score.
Palace, meanwhile, have adjusted their tactics after conceding 10 goals in just two games in April. They are currently unbeaten in 5 matches, despite facing strong opponents such as Bournemouth, Arsenal, Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and Spurs.
Head-to-head record
Man City have won their last three FA Cup meetings with Crystal Palace (total score of 18). The last meeting between the two sides was in the fourth round of the 2016-17 season, when the Citizens won 3-0 at Selhurst Park.
Man City are unbeaten in their last seven meetings with Crystal Palace in all competitions (W4 D3), since a 2-0 defeat in the Premier League in October 2021. They came back from behind after falling two goals behind to beat Palace 5-2 in their last meeting.
Each team has scored at least 2 goals in the last 4 meetings, with 2-2 draws, and 4-2 and 5-2 victories for The Citizens.
The last time the two clubs have scored two or more goals in five consecutive meetings was between 1975 and 1977.
Score prediction: Crystal Palace 2-3 Man City
The match between Man City and Crystal Palace takes place at 22:30 on May 17 (Vietnam time).
