Manchester City

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When you are a neutral, we all like an upset in the FA Cup final, but it is a big task for Crystal Palace to beat Manchester City on Saturday.

Since some heavy defeats against City and Newcastle, Palace seems to have turned a corner. They beat Aston Villa in the semi-final in a fantastic day at Wembley for them. They have showed a little bit of consistency and momentum from that.

But this is Palace's first FA Cup final in nine years and only their third overall. Whereas for Manchester City, a trip to Wembley is a regular thing at the end of the season. That know-how and experience can play a big part on these big days - that energy, that excitement of players, at times it can drain a lot out of you. When you are playing against a team that is used to these environments, it can be quite difficult.

Palace will certainly have changed their style and tactics since those two defeats where they conceded 10 goals. They will be defensively more resilient, they will be harder to beat, but I think it will still be a difficult task. However, it is an FA Cup final and you never know what is going to happen. Who expected Manchester United to beat City last year? Not many of us.

Oliver Glasner's side come into this with some momentum and good confidence, while you can look at Manchester City against Southampton, arguably City did dominate and just could not get the ball in the back of the net, so could that be something Crystal Palace look at?

With Ebere Eze and Jean-Phillippe Mateta on transitions, they are players that can make a real difference. Tactically it will be a really interesting one, but we know Manchester City are cup final kings.

Fara Williams was speaking to BBC Sport's Nicola Pearson

Manchester City have met with Bayer Leverkusen's 22-year-old forward Florian Wirtz over a potential summer move. (Bild), external

However, Liverpool have also made contact with Wirtz to express an interest in signing the playmaker this summer. (Athletic - subscription required), external

Premier League clubs, including Manchester City and Arsenal, are circling 24-year-old Real Madrid forward Rodrygo, amid reports of the Brazilian falling out with club staff. (AS - in Spanish), external

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For the players and fans, Nottingham Forest striker Taiwo Awoniyi getting this injury in a situation where the offside flag should have been raised is so frustrating.

The frustration is when it is clear and obvious. Officials have been overseeing games for many years and they would always flag whether they were right or wrong.

Now technology has come into it, they are very reliant on VAR to make the right decision, the factual decision, about an offside. But, I think when an offside is so clear and obvious, it should be the duty of the assistant referee to put their flag up and stop play from the off.

When it is marginal, I understand we are a bit more hesitant when there are really fine margins, and we have seen those fine margins when goals have been given and it is a toenail to keep them on-side. I would understand it from that point of view, but it was on the halfway-line where the offside happened on Sunday, only for play to be allowed to continue.

It has been a matter of time. It has been a time bomb waiting to go off for somebody to get seriously injured. Awoniyi is the one that has got that injury - that horrific injury - because of it. Some will say it is only the first time it has happened in the duration of this rule, but it should never happen. That is how players will be looking at it, how fans and managers will be looking at it and saying 'it should never happen'. We should not wait for something to happen to reassess rules like this.

I don't like the ruling of it - it is on the halfway-line, it is clear and obviously offside, everybody in the stadium could probably see it. It should be for the assistant referee to make the decision. There are small margins in the box, I understand why they are a bit hesitant, but in open play, if somebody is sprinting, you could cause hamstring, quad, and all types of muscle injuries.

I am totally against this rule of waiting to put up the flag and I think most players and managers are as well. It's disappointing. I think it's a rule that nobody likes, and I'm sure in the summer off the back of this injury, one that will probably be reassessed.

Fara Williams was speaking to BBC Sport's Nicola Pearson

Shamoon Hafez
BBC Sport football news reporter

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Manchester City defender Jahmai Simpson-Pusey has won the Premier League 2 player of the season award.

The 19-year-old becomes the first defender to win the award and follows Carlos Borges, James McAtee and Liam Delap as the fourth City player in five seasons to claim the gong.

Captain Simpson-Pusey led City to the top of the PL2 table and the side will face Southampton in the play-off final.

His performances have led him to City's first team, making his senior debut in the Carabao Cup defeat by Tottenham in October, and going on to make five further appearances for Pep Guardiola's side.

"To receive this award in such a competitive league with lots of amazing talent is a huge honour for me," said Simpson-Pusey.

"I feel like this has been my best season representing City and I'm really glad it's helped the team win the PL2 league and reach the play-off final, which we are excited to be competing in."

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Wednesday is the 14th anniversary of an important day in Manchester City's recent history - the 1-0 victory over Stoke City in the 2011 FA Cup final.

Yaya Toure's winner secured City's first major trophy for 35 years and a first under the club's current owners.

Of course, many more trophies have followed in the years since.

City are back at Wembley on Saturday to face Crystal Palace in the 2025 final and will be hoping to lift the FA Cup for the eighth time in the club's history.

Nottingham Forest will make at least five signings this summer with Manchester City's 22-year-old English midfielder James McAtee and Ipswich striker Liam Delap among those they have scouted. (Telegraph - subscription required, external)

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We asked for your views on Man City's 2025-26 home kit.

Here are some of your comments:

Brett: I am not impressed with a lot of the recent Man City shirt designs, including this new one for 2025-26. They seem to be trying to create something different just for the sake of it, rather than concentrating on the aesthetic appearance of the product. A lot of the older classic designs worked for a reason; because the shirt-makers and designers used tried and tested designs and colour combinations which were visually appealing.

Phil: Lovely and imaginative, but every season cannot be right. The cost of following your favourite team has become too expensive, sorry.

Jason: Not paying £85, becoming a rip-off now.

Dave: It's very retro, I like it.

Franek: To be honest, I was never interested in home kits... and that is still the case. This looks more like a shirt for a casual walk in the park rather than a shirt to play 90 minutes of high-intensity sport.

Ken: It should remind people to put their seatbelt on.

Freddie Pye
Fan writer

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It has been a slow and painful decline for Phil Foden this season.

From the remarkable highs of winning a fourth consecutive Premier League title, largely inspired by his own contributions in front of goal, his first senior top-flight Player of the Season award and other individual accolades, to being on the fringes of Pep Guardiola's plans, nobody quite knows what has gone so terribly wrong for the Stockport-born playmaker.

Many, including myself, thought in time we would see a natural return to form and the usual excellent standards set by Foden himself as the ongoing season went on, but it seems as though more the opposite has taken place.

A somewhat rare start was handed to the 24-year-old against Southampton on Saturday as Guardiola looked to make use of Foden's eye for goal by placing the Englishman up alongside Erling Haaland in the attacking third.

Instead, we saw a showcase of a player severely lacking in fitness, bereft of confidence, falling short when it came to a tactical understanding of what was being expected of him, and quite evidently a player crying out for an extended break from the game.

And with Manchester City closing out their season in the coming weeks, albeit with a crucial top-five finish on the agenda and an FA Cup final coming up, perhaps Foden should be granted an opportunity to step away from duties with the club until the start of next season. Yes, that does include the Fifa Club World Cup.

Having won everything available to him all by the age of just 23, with the weight of the world on his shoulders and an expectance to succeed like no other Manchester City academy player has had in the past, perhaps this is a concerning example of burnout.

There is not one onlooker who wants to see this Foden decline continue any further than it already has, and Manchester City simply must do what is absolutely best and allow one of their prized assets an extended break to regain that hunger and energy for the game he most certainly loves.

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Manchester City midfielder Mateo Kovacic spoke to BBC Radio Manchester about the prospect of winning the FA Cup on Saturday: "If we end up in the top four and win the FA Cup, I think it is a positive [season] in the end. I have been in the Premier League for a lot of years and it is never easy to be in the top four - when you are at Manchester City you take it for granted because the consistency is so high.

"This year has been a different journey but it is part of the growth and character of the team. We have shown lately that we can deal with the pressure, we now have to secure our spot in the Champions League and win the FA Cup.

"The FA Cup is the oldest cup competition in football and it would mean a lot to win it. I have been in the final four times and never won it, which shows how difficult it is to win. We will try our best to show we are a great team and we can win a trophy in an average season."

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter

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BBC Sport's chief football news reporter Simon Stone has been answering your questions on the transfer window.

Franek: Kevin de Bruyne leaving has been a big hit for us Manchester City fans. What I want to know is who can City buy to replace the huge hole that he's left? The ideal option for me would be Florian Wirtz but I want your opinion.

Simon: I think Wirtz would be a great option, Franek.

With Xabi Alonso leaving Bayer Leverkusen for Real Madrid, there is a deal to be done, although Bayern Munich are also keen and they have a long history of buying big names from German rivals.

Nottingham Forest's Morgan Gibbs-White is also on Pep Guardiola's radar, although it remains to be seen how easy it is to deal with Evangelos Marinakis.

De Bruyne will leave a huge hole but the reality is he is not the same player as he was and City need to move on.

Image source, Manchester City on X

Manchester City have revealed their home kit for the 2025-26 season.

"For the first time in the club's history, the home kit features the famous 'sash' - the diagonal stripe design made iconic on previous City away days," a club statement said.

The club added that the new kit will be worn when City participate in the Fifa Club World Cup this summer.

What do you make of the kit, City fans? Let us know here

Manchester City will target a summer move for 26-year-old Netherlands midfielder Tijjani Reijnders from AC Milan, who will only consider a bid in excess of club record £57m. (Telegraph - subscription required), external

Napoli have held talks with Kevin de Bruyne's camp about signing on a free transfer when his contract expires with Manchester City in the summer. (Sky Switzerland - in French), external

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