Crystal Palace vs Man City: FA Cup final team news, predicted lineups and injuries

Crystal Palace hope to have Adam Wharton fit and available when they take on Manchester City in the FA Cup final this weekend.

The Eagles are back at the home of English football as they seek to lift the trophy for the first time in their history, having twice fallen short against Manchester United in 1990 and 2016.

City this time stand in their way, with Pep Guardiola’s side looking to salvage something from a underwhelming campaign at the Etihad.

Palace have a relatively clean bill of health with Cheick Doucoure, ruled out for the rest of the season back in January, their only major absentee.

There was concern for Wharton last week however after he picked up an ankle injury in the 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest at Selhurst Park, replaced by Will Hughes in the 61^st minute.

Wharton was not included in the squad for Sunday’s Premier League clash with Tottenham. Oliver Glasner however was hopeful the 21-year-old would be back in full training on Wednesday afternoon.

‘He didn’t train the whole week so if everything goes right we hope that after the Tottenham game he can be reintegrated, at least partly, into training,’ Glaser said last week. ‘Then on Wednesday when we start preparing for the final I hope that he is in training with us.

‘He is working hard that he can train with us. He has to train otherwise he can’t play the final. He knows that.

‘For me, it is 90 per cent that he can play, but always things can happen. It is not about taking risks, his ligament is a bit damaged and when he has to run or if he has turn his foot then the pain is just too much.’

City have injury problems of their own but were able to welcome Erling Haaland back at the weekend. After featuring as an unused substitute against Wolves, the Norway international was back in the starting XI against Southampton in a frustrating afternoon where he drew a blank despite his side registering 26 shots on target.

Rodri meanwhile has been edging closer to full fitness having been out since September. While Pep Guardiola has not ruled out the possibility of the Ballon d’Or winner featuring at Wembley, he is understandably cautious.

Problems at the back remain with John Stones not featuring since the Champions League exit at the hands of Real Madrid back in February. There has been little update on the England international with no timeline for his return available during his absence. It remains to be seen if he will feature again this season.

Nathan Ake meanwhile has been sidelined since the start of March, undergoing surgery on a fractured foot. While he was not involved against Southampton, the Dutchman was back in training last week.

Oscar Bobb was another who missed the trip to the south coast despite also returning to partial training. The winger was back from a long-term issue last month, making cameo appearances against Leicester and Crystal Palace but has been dealing with a hamstring injury since.

Predicted Crystal Palace XI to face Man City

Henderson, Richards, Lacroix, Guehi, Munoz, Wharton, Kamada, Mitchell, Sarr, Eze, Mateta

Predicted Man City XI to face Crystal Palace

Ortega, Nunes, Dias, Akanji, Gvardiol, Bernardo, Kovacic, Foden, de Bruyne, Marmoush, Haaland

Where to watch FA Cup final? Kick-off time and TV channel

Crystal Palace vs Manchester City is scheduled to kick off at 4:30pm on Saturday 17 May.

The match is available to watch live on both BBC One and ITV1 with live streaming available through BBC iPlayer and ITVX.