FA Cup Lifeline for Guardiola
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The FA Cup has been dismissed as a tournament the big teams are no longer interested in winning. Compared to the Premier League and the money involved for qualifying for the Champions League or avoiding relegation, the FA Cup is low down on the priorities at the start of the season.
It’s interesting then, how Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City have won seven of the last eight FA Cup tournaments, which shows it must mean something to the big clubs after all. This season, it could mean a lot to Manchester City, who are struggling to win the Premier League and travel to Crystal Palace in the fourth round.
The FA Cup will come as a pleasant distraction to the Premier League for both clubs and Crystal Palace are still looking for their first league win under Sam Allardyce. Palace have lost their last four Premier League games but defeated Bolton in the third round of the FA Cup, the only tournament which has given the fans something to cheer about in recent weeks.
Allardyce will be hoping Christian Benteke can give the Manchester City defence another afternoon to forget. Defensively, City have been poor for most of the season and it seems unlikely they are going to keep a clean sheet in this game. Pep Guardiola went all out attack in the league match against Tottenham last weekend and it looked to be working, as his team went 2-0 up. However, the same old problems came back to haunt them, as Spurs pulled two goals back to rescue a point from the match.
However, Guardiola will take one look at Palace’s defensive record and his eyes will light up. The Eagles have kept only one clean sheet in their last 23 games against teams from the top flight and with a full-strength team, City should have no problem in breaking down the hosts. Therefore, this should be a game full of goals and very entertaining for the neutral. Over 2.5 goals have been scored in five of the last six meetings between these teams and this is every chance it will happen again.
The FA Cup is Manchester City’s best chance of winning silverware this season and they will not want to be eliminated from the competition at this early stage. To finish the season without a trophy will be deemed a disaster and the pressure is on for City’s multi-million-pound squad to deliver. There will be a great atmosphere at Selhurst Park, as the home players and fans enjoy a break from the Premier League. If Palace can remain in the match beyond the 70-minute mark, they have every chance of winning the game. If Manchester City take the lead early, it could be a long afternoon for the home fans, as they can take teams apart, as shown in the previous round at West Ham.
Crystal Palace have the players to make it very uncomfortable for Manchester City defensively but the away team have the extra talent to make a difference. Expect City to win this, with both teams scoring.
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