Crystal Palace vs. Manchester United: FA Cup Final Odds, Live Stream, Prediction
Manchester United will battle to clinch a record-tying 12th FA Cup when they meet Crystal Palace at Wembley Stadium on Saturday, a match that could decide manager Louis van Gaal's future at the club.
The Red Devils make their way to London's capital hoping to match Arsenal as the joint-most successful club in the competition, while Palace are set to feature in just their second-ever final.
The Eagles' first and only Wembley appearance also happened to come against United, but they'll be hoping to reverse their fortunes after surrendering a 1-0 defeat to their foes in the 1990 replay showdown after the first game ended in a 3-3 draw.
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Earlier in the week, Van Gaal suggested victory in the FA Cup this Saturday will be even greater than finishing fourth in the Premier League, per BBC Sport, but boss Alan Pardew's Palace will have something to say about it.
Read on for a breakdown of the latest odds heading into this season's FA Cup final, complete with score prediction and a selection of the most enticing bets on offer.
| Crystal Palace Win | 9-2 |
| Draw | 11-4 |
| Manchester United Win | 8-11 |
Odds provided courtesy of Odds Shark, Betting Expert and Oddschecker.
Date: Saturday, May 21
Time: 5:30 p.m. BST/12:30 p.m. ET
Venue: Wembley Stadium, London
Live Stream: BBC Sport website (UK), Fox Soccer 2GO (US)
First Goalscorer: Marcus Rashford (5-1)
Despite only breaking into the United first team in February, Marcus Rashford now heads into his first major cup final appearance as a 5-1 joint favourite to open the scoring at Wembley, per Oddschecker.
He sits alongside club captain Wayne Rooney as front-runner to break the deadlock, and team-mate Andreas Pereira told Goal's Gabriel Pazini he has full faith in Rashford to accomplish great things:
"I think he has the potential to be a superstar. He is very young, but has a lot of talent too. If he keeps playing this way, with this hunger for goals, and stays humble and learning things, I think that he can be one of the best in the world.
Everyone at the club knew he was a good player, very talented, but it was a surprise when he stepped in and scored four goals in his first two games. No one even expected that he would play, so it was very surprising even for us who knew him.
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It would certainly fit in with Rashford's whirlwind 2015-16 if he were to go on and dazzle at Wembley, and Squawka Dave highlighted he has the accurate eye for goal necessary to bring United their 12th FA Cup success:
It's no secret scoring goals has been a major concern for the Red Devils this season, but after netting five times in 11 Premier League appearances to date, Rashford looks like the man to lead their assault.
The 18-year-old has shown no signs of cracking under pressure thus far in his United career, and it's unlikely Palace, nor the occasion of playing at Wembley, will break him now.
Correct Score: Manchester United 1-0 Crystal Palace (5-1)
Speaking of United's goal-shy nature under Van Gaal this season, it seems far from impossible that should they triumph in London on Saturday, it could well be by the slimmest of margins.
The Red Devils have won eight matches by a 1-0 scoreline in the league alone this season, and Van Gaal told the media on Thursday he'd be content with victory by any means, per the Telegraph's James Ducker:
"We have to beat Crystal Palace but that is not so easy. They have a lot of quality. I think they shall defend in a small space and on the counters they have a lot of speed on their attack.
You need two attacking sides when you get a fantastic match but of course our starting point is to start well, win beautifully, score beautiful goals but a 1-0 win for me is also enough because winning is always the most important thing in the final, otherwise you have nothing.
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Betting Expert statistics show United have netted an average of 1.5 goals per game in their last 10 outings, while Palace have averaged just 0.9 in the same timeframe, and Van Gaal's men will be tough to break down.
ESPN's James Dall highlighted United's affinity for 1-0 victories this season prior to their Premier League season-ending clash against Bournemouth:
The favourites are priced at 5-1 to triumph 1-0 again on Saturday, per Oddschecker, against a Palace team that scored just 39 goals in the league this season, the joint-third lowest tally in the English top flight.
Prediction: Crystal Palace 0-1 Manchester United
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