The stars did not align for Manchester United who had two chances of making it to the Champions League a couple of weeks back. If City and Liverpool would have gone through to the CL and the Europa League finals and actually won the trophies, 5th place would have been sent to the Champions League Play-Offs. Winning against West Ham would also have sent Manchester United to the Champions League as they would have finished 4th. All water under the bridge now that the FA Cup Final is hours away. Maybe focusing on the Europa League is best for United who are still building a group and will very probably bring in new talent this summer. LVG seems to favor youngsters so the natural step would be to take it slow. Throwing them directly into the Champions League is clearly not meant to be.
With their place in the Europa League already secured, United can now focus on getting their 12th FA Cup. It would be an important trophy to win considering the fact that the last Cup was brought to Old Trafford back in 2004. It will be the second time Manchester United face Crystal Palace in a Cup final after the clash that took place in 1990. Back then United won the replay after the first game ended in a 3-3 draw.
LVG’s team are favorites if you look at the statistics as well. Crystal Palace have won a single match out of the last 20 encounters and have shown a very inconsistent form during the last games of the season. There should be more motivation behind United as well. This could be van Gaal’s first trophy for United. A win could also mean the Devils equal Arsenal who are the FA Cup record holders with 12 finals won. Then there’s Euro 2016. With the deadline set on the 27th, this will be the last chance for some players to show they are worth being selected for their country’s lot. Rashford is surely going to be one of the most motivated players as he is included in the extended lot and is still in doubt about his presence in France.
As always LVG did not put too much pressure on his players before the game: “Always your starting point is to impress and perform well. That depends on a lot of factors, including your opponent. Then you get a fantastic match. Our starting point is to win well and score beautiful goals. But if we win 1-0 that is also enough. Winning is the most important thing in a final, otherwise you have nothing.” As reported by the BBC, the Dutchman will be using the best possible starting eleven.
Manchester United: Adnan Januzaj, Fonsu-Mensah, Schweinsteiger, Shaw and Depay are unavailable. Darmian, Schneiderlin and Rojo are doubtful while Fellaini is eligible to play but might start on the bench.
Crystal Palace: Joe Ledley is the only unavailable player.
Score Prediction: Manchester United 3-0 Crystal Palace
Manchester United Starting XI
