PREVIEW : FA CUP FINAL 2016
Scene-setter : United completed league duties with a comfortable 3-1 win over Bournemouth on Tuesday and will subsequently enter what is undoubtedly the biggest game of our season in a good spirits. Louis van Gaal and his men will be out to secure the club’s 12th win in the competition, a figure that equals the all-time record set by Arsenal last season - it would also be van Gaal's first trophy as United manager. Crystal Palace, meanwhile, will be hoping to avoid a repeat of their defeat at the hands of the Reds in the final replay back in 1990, as the Eagles aim to lift the trophy for the very first time. Just as was the case in the initial match 26 years ago, United will don the alternate white strip on Saturday.
Form guide : The Reds' 3-2 defeat to West Ham all but ruled out a top-four finish and inevitably brought an air of disappointment in its wake, but the aforementioned win over the Cherries midweek has generated a positive feeling ahead of the final. United’s excellent display - allied to a dramatic late rallying cry against Everton in the semi-finals - has given fans a cause for optimism, with the players all clearly hungry to add an FA Cup winners’ medal to their collection. Alan Pardew’s men also wrapped up the campaign in a similarly mixed fashion, as a 2-1 win at home to Stoke secured top-flight status for another season, before a 4-1 humbling at hands of Ronald Koeman’s Southampton side followed.
Last meeting : A Damian Delaney own goal, allied to Matteo Darmian's screamer, gave United a comfortable 2-0 win at Old Trafford when the sides last met - a few days before the teams’ semi-final matches against Everton and Watford respectively. It was a match that the home side controlled, with Wayne Rooney occupying a midfield role that he could well reprise on Saturday. The teams also met at this stage of the cup back in 1990, in one of the most exciting Wembley finals of the modern era. The match finished 3-3 after extra-time, with Mark Hughes and Palace’s Ian Wright both scoring twice, as well as Gary O’Reilly and Bryan Robson, who opened the scoring for their respective sides. The tie would ultimately be settled in a replay five days later, when a Lee Martin goal shortly before the hour mark secured cup glory for United.
Latest team news : Louis van Gaal will have been relieved that his players came away from Tuesday’s hastily rearranged fixture with Bournemouth unscathed. Doubts still remain over the availability of Tim Fosu-Mensah and Morgan Schneiderlin, with Bastian Schweinsteiger and Luke Shaw both ruled out. One positive for United is the return of Marouane Fellaini who will be available after completing a three-match suspension. Palace also have a number of question marks hanging over the head of key players including Yohan Cabaye, Connor Wickham and former Red Wilfried Zaha.
View from the dressing room : "The FA Cup is a big title in this country and we are playing in the most prestigious temple of England. Everything confirms how important this cup is." Louis van Gaal.
Opposition manager : Alan Pardew will be aiming to secure his first major trophy on Saturday when he leads his Palace side out at Wembley. The Eagles boss has reached the final before, with West Ham in 2006, when the Hammers lost out to Liverpool on penalties following a thrilling 3-3 draw. In an interesting twist, the Wimbledon-born boss also in the starting XI for Crystal Palace in both the final and the replay back in 1990. He also scored the winner for the Eagles in the preceding semi-final clash against Liverpool.
Danger man : Despite the scoreline, winger Jason Puncheon impressed in Palace’s defeat to the Saints at the weekend, netting the Eagles’ only goal in an otherwise disappointing display. The boyhood Palace fan has enjoyed a fine season at Selhurst Park, with top scorer Dwight Gayle and Wilfired Zaha also proving tricky prospects for the opposition. Zaha could make his fourth appearance against United since re-signing for Palace in 2014 and will no doubt be keen to show off the direct wing play that encouraged Sir Alex Ferguson to sign him in January 2013.
Cup final trivia : If Marcus Rashford was to find the net this weekend’s final he would become the second-youngest United player to do so at 18 years and 203 days. The title of the youngest scorer belongs to another United academy graduate in Norman Whiteside, whose goal in the victorious 1983 final replay against Brighton at 18 years and 19 days, still holds the record.
Referee : Experienced official Mark Clattenburg will preside over this fixture having last took charge of a United game back in January, when van Gaal’s men registered an important 1-0 at Liverpool. He was also the man in the middle for 0-0 draws against West Ham and City at Old Trafford, as well as the 3-2 win at St. Mary’s. Clattenburg was delighted to be asked to officiate of the final telling TheFA.com: “It’s an honour and a massive achievement to referee this game. I remember watching United v Palace back in the 1990 final. Hopefully it will be as good as it was all those years ago.”
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