Crystal Palace v Manchester United. Tancredi Palmeri’s prediction

This is not only an FA Cup Final, but could quite easily also be Van Gaal’s last game as Manchester United manager, and, given how the season has gone, there’s no guarantee that he’ll go out on a high having lifted a trophy. Crystal Palace aren’t exactly the most irresistible opponent, but then again neither are United.

This seasons FA Cup has been the only sniff of a trophy Man United have had for some time. For most teams this wouldn’t be so bad, but considering United made a habit of winning trophies for so many years – haven’t gone trophy-less for two years since 1987! – this won’t feel right. But if that is a lot, let’s consider Palace. They’ve NEVER won anything, and have only reached the Cup final on one other occasion, 26 years ago! With this in mind, there is a huge amount of motivation for both sides.

For Palace this is definitely a once in a blue moon opportunity, and they will surely give everything they have and fight til the end. I’m not sure you could take a bet on either side to win with any real confidence, but the bet that does stand out is both teams to score at odds of 5/4. Both teams scored in each of the three previous FA Cup games where United faced Premier League opposition and it would be no surprise if we saw this outcome once again.