FA Cup 2016: Crystal Palace vs. Manchester United

Crystal Palace takes on Manchester United in the FA Cup final on Saturday May 21, 2016, and this match promises to be a cracker. Manchester United is certainly under pressure to win the cup, which is something that former Crystal Palace player and Scotland international Dougie Freedman firmly believes could benefit his former club.

Crystal Palace seems to have very good momentum and have a team that’s playing well. They’ve managed to stay put in the Premiership and have midfielders Yannick Bolasie and Wilfried Zaha in top form. Defenders Scott Dann and Damien Delaney are also pairing well, which gives Crystal Palace every opportunity to go all guns blazing against Manchester United who are still coming to terms with slipping down to fifth position in the Premiership. This will be the second time that Crystal Palace, who is sponsored by Mansion Group, which also owns the popular casino.com site, will be in the FA Cup final. In their first outing in the 1990 FA Cup they gave Manchester United a tough time. The score at full time was 3-3, after which the Red Devils won 1-0 in a replay. Stability is what Crystal Palace enjoy at the moment since manager Alan Pardew has signed a new contract and they remain in the Premiership, which should have the players all fired up for the big game on Saturday.

Manchester United on the other hand has the pressure piling on in a bid to win their twelfth title. Louis van Gaal’s United comes into the final after a stoppage time goal by Anthony Martial allowed them to  scrape through against Everton. In their road to the final they scored a lone goal against Sheffield United and followed that 20 days later with a 3-1 win against Derby County. Next up was another away game against Shrewsbury Town which they won convincingly 3-0. After drawing with top-flight opponents West Ham United, they managed to scrape through 2-1 in the replay. As the Red Devils move into the FA Cup final, manager Louis Van Gaal is of the opinion that their fans expectations are ‘much too high’. According to Gaal, the team is in transition, and he wished to send that message loud and clear to everyone at the Old Traffod club.

Crystal Palace vs. Manchester United Prediction

It is no secret that Crystal Palace is a fully motivated bunch with a solid defense that seems to be gelling well. The Red Devils on the other hand have had a series of ups and down, combine that with the pressure of winning and there is every chance they could falter. 2-1 in favor of the Eagles is what some experts believe.