FA Cup Final: Key Tactical Battles Between Crystal Palace and Manchester City

If recent clashes between Crystal Palace and Manchester City are any indication, the 144th FA Cup final promises to be a thrilling spectacle this weekend.

Across their two Premier League meetings this season, the teams shared 11 goals, highlighting mutual vulnerabilities in defence and the attacking flair on display.

Interestingly, Palace have found the net twice in five of their last six matches against Pep Guardiola’s side. Yet, despite this attacking success, they have failed to secure victory in any of those encounters.

Nevertheless, Oliver Glasner’s side travel to Wembley in fine form and will believe they have what it takes to cause a shock on the big stage.

Palace’s Set-Piece Strength Could Be Crucial

The Eagles have shown their potency from set-pieces this season, racking up 16 goals from dead-ball situations in the Premier League.

This tally makes them joint-top in the league for set-piece goals, with Adam Wharton, Eberechi Eze and Will Hughes all delivering consistently high-quality balls into the danger zone.

Of those 16 goals, 11 have come from corners. Palace have also scored from four free-kicks and even one long throw-in—testament to their versatile set-piece strategies.

Guardiola will be under no illusions about this threat. His side have already conceded from corners in both league matches against Palace this term.

At Selhurst Park, Maxence Lacroix rose above everyone in the six-yard area to head home from a Hughes inswinger. In the return fixture, it was Wharton who delivered with pace, and Chris Richards powered home a header.

Jean-Philippe Mateta’s positioning in front of Ederson proved problematic, with the goalkeeper clearly distracted, while City’s defenders appeared helpless as Richards burst through to score.

Lacroix, in particular, is a dominant aerial presence. The centre-back has had eight attempts from set-pieces this season—the joint-highest total in the league.

Only Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk (19) has attempted more headers on goal than Lacroix’s 17 among Premier League defenders.

Although Manchester City are generally reliable at defending set-pieces, their struggles against Glasner’s Palace highlight a specific area of concern. Every time the Eagles prepare to deliver a corner or wide free-kick, City’s defence will be on high alert.

Manchester City’s Plan to Break Palace’s 3-4-2-1

Glasner’s tactical blueprint sees Palace morph into a 5-4-1 shape when out of possession. City’s challenge will be to drag this compact structure apart to create attacking opportunities.

Rico Lewis’s equaliser during the 2-2 draw at Selhurst Park earlier this season offers a case study of City doing this effectively.

HIGHLIGHTS Crystal Palace 2-2 Man City | Haaland, Lewis, Munoz & Lacroix Goals

By positioning Matheus Nunes wide on the touchline, City pulled Palace right wing-back Daniel Munoz out of position. The resulting gap between him and the right-sided centre-back became the area City targeted.

Initially, Palace’s defensive shape appeared solid against City’s box midfield. However, Kevin De Bruyne’s smart movement off Mateta allowed him to receive an angled pass, which he quickly relayed to Bernardo Silva.

At this moment, Palace centre-back Trevor Chalobah was forced to step out to engage Silva, but did so too late. With Ismaila Sarr failing to track Lewis’s run, the young midfielder ghosted into space and converted from close range.

It’s precisely these intelligent interplays that City will look to replicate at Wembley.

Against a 3-4-2-1 formation, teams often exploit the spaces behind the two central midfielders or the channels between the wing-backs and wide centre-backs.

With constant movement, Guardiola’s men will seek to create overloads and exploit positional mismatches to gain the upper hand.

The Danger of Eze and Munoz on the Flanks

Eberechi Eze and Daniel Munoz are enjoying a purple patch of form, and both were instrumental in last weekend’s 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur.

Munoz has emerged as the Premier League’s most creative defender this season, registering four goals and five assists from right wing-back. He’s also found the net twice in this season’s FA Cup.

Tyrick Mitchell, operating on the opposite flank, also ranks in the top five for open-play chances created by defenders, ensuring Palace offer attacking width on both sides.

Munoz opened the scoring against City at Selhurst Park by cleverly running off Nunes and Lewis to exploit a cross-field ball.

Switching play quickly is central to Munoz’s threat, and this pattern will undoubtedly feature in Palace’s attacking plan at Wembley.

At the Etihad, Munoz stretched City’s backline by staying wide, and his low ball across the box led to a disallowed Eze goal for offside.

Earlier in the same match, Munoz set up Eze’s opener by receiving the ball on the flank and threading an early pass down the channel for Sarr. His ability to lure Lewis out and create space behind is a signature move in Palace’s offensive playbook.

Eze, meanwhile, has scored five goals in his last four appearances, including a brace against Spurs last weekend.

His finishing has been lethal, and he continues to find himself in dangerous positions for a Palace side brimming with confidence.

Since Christmas, Eze has recorded 10 goals and seven assists for club and country—averaging one goal involvement every 107.7 minutes.

In the FA Cup alone, he has three goals and one assist in four outings. He will be aiming to add to his tally on Saturday.

De Bruyne: The Player Palace Must Keep Quiet

Kevin De Bruyne’s performance as a false nine in April’s clash was a masterclass in attacking play.

He scored, created three key passes (one assist), and took six shots, leaving Palace unable to contain him.

This weekend, he is more likely to start in a No. 10 role, positioned behind either Erling Haaland or Omar Marmoush.

De Bruyne excels at occupying spaces between the opposition’s midfield and defence—drifting into zones that are difficult for centre-backs and defensive midfielders to monitor effectively.

Unless one of Palace’s back three steps out assertively to challenge him, De Bruyne is likely to carve them open with his trademark through-balls.

With the explosive pace of Haaland, Marmoush, Savinho and Jeremy Doku surrounding him, Palace face a significant challenge in preventing City from creating chances.

Glasner must ensure his side blocks passing lanes into De Bruyne and applies pressure at the right moments to neutralise this threat.

Palace Must Be Perfect to Spring a Surprise

While these tactical match-ups highlight just a few of the key areas, the FA Cup final promises multiple layers of strategy and individual battles across the pitch.

If Palace hope to cause an upset, their defensive display must be near-perfect—similar to how Southampton frustrated City last weekend.

At the same time, Palace possess individual brilliance in players like Eze, Munoz and Mateta—capable of delivering moments that can change the course of a match.

Expect an intense, goal-laden encounter between two sides with contrasting styles but plenty of ambition.