Louis van Gaal will attempt to win his first trophy as Manchester United boss when his team face fellow Premier League side Crystal Palace in the 2016 FA Cup final at Wembley on Saturday.
Man United will be looking to end a 12-year wait for an FA Cup trophy in what is a repeat of the 1990 final, when the Red Devils triumphed courtesy of a 1-0 replay success.
Crystal Palace
© Getty ImagesAlan Pardew was part of the Palace team that lost to Man United in the 1990 FA Cup final, but the 54-year-old has insisted that he will not be out for revenge when he leads the Eagles into battle this weekend.
"There's no revenge. This is about this team getting to a cup final and winning it. We're not going to drown ourselves in 1990," Pardew told reporters during his pre-match press conference on Thursday afternoon.
There is no question that Palace will enter as the underdogs, but their form in this season's competition will have given them plenty of confidence. Indeed, they have had to overcome four Premier League sides to reach the final - beating Southampton, Stoke City, Tottenham Hotspur, Reading and Watford to make Saturday's conclusion.
It would be fair to say that Palace's league form tailed off in the second half of the season - dropping from the cusp of Champions League football to 15th position, where they ended the campaign. Another season of Premier League football has been secured, but they only won two league games in the second half of the season.
They have also failed to win any of their last five matches away from home and were beaten 4-1 at Southampton on the final weekend of the Premier League season. The disappointment of a poor 2016 has been overshadowed by their FA Cup form, however, and Pardew will be hailed as a legend if he can deliver the trophy to Selhurst Park.
Palace will enter the match having won their last three matches at Wembley and having been victorious in six of their last seven FA Cup ties against fellow Premier League opposition. The bookmakers are favouring Man United and indeed Van Gaal, but Pardew will certainly believe that his team can pull off a shock in the capital.
Recent form: LWWWWW
Recent form (all competitions): DWLLWL
Man United
© AFPWembley could indeed be the venue for Van Gaal's final match in charge of Man United. The Dutchman is being widely tipped to depart Old Trafford this summer and an FA Cup trophy would be the perfect way to depart under the circumstances.
Man United made a brave challenge for a top-four Premier League finish in the last couple of months, but they ultimately fell short of Manchester City on goal difference, which will have been even more difficult to take.
Despite all of the criticism aimed at the Red Devils this season, they have only actually lost one of their last eight games in all competitions and that was the 3-2 defeat at West Ham United on May 10. On Tuesday, they finally ended their Premier League season with a comfortable 3-1 win over Bournemouth, which saw them secure fifth spot and a Europa League place.
This is Man United's first appearance in the FA Cup final since 2007 and they have not lifted the trophy since beating Millwall 3-0 in the 2004 final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. That said, they have been victorious on 11 occasions in this competition, with only Arsenal (12) claiming the trophy more times.
Overall, the 20-time English champions have reached the FA Cup final on 18 occasions - recording 11 wins and suffering seven defeats. There will be no Champions League football at Old Trafford next season, but there is no playing down the importance of this match in terms of the future of Van Gaal and the club as a whole.
To reach this stage, Man United have had to overcome Sheffield United, Derby County, Shrewsbury Town and West Ham United, before beating Everton 2-1 in the semi-finals courtesy of a late winner from Anthony Martial.
The latest reports have claimed that Van Gaal could be offered a director of football role at Man United, with Jose Mourinho taking control of the first team. It has become a saga over the last few months, but none of that will matter on Saturday night when the final kicks off at 5.30pm.
Recent form: WWWDWW
Recent form (all competitions): WWDWLD
Team News
© Getty ImagesPalace have been boosted by the return of Bacary Sako, but Joe Ledley will not take part, something which Pardew branded "a terrible shame" when he spoke to the media on Thursday afternoon.
Emmanuel Adebayor is expected to play a part in what could be his final Palace appearance, but either Dwight Gayle or Connor Wickham, who scored against Watford in the semi-final, are due to lead the line.
Wilfried Zaha, meanwhile, is expected to start against his former club in a wide position.
As for Man United, Van Gaal revealed at his pre-match press conference that full-backs Matteo Darmian and Marcos Rojo have both overcome recent injuries and will come into the Dutchman's thinking for this weekend.
Van Gaal has "a squad of 27 players" for the clash in London, with only Luke Shaw and Bastian Schweinsteiger unavailable for the Red Devils. Marouane Fellaini has served his three-game suspension and is now available.
Despite a number of options, it is widely thought that the same starting XI from the Bournemouth match will take to the field, leaving Cameron Borthwick-Jackson on the left side of the defence.
Marcus Rashford and Martial will both look to continue their excellent recent form in the final third. Martial has been directly involved in 25 goals in all competitions for Man United this season, while Rashford has scored eight goals from just 14 shots on target since stepping into the first team.
Palace possible starting lineup:
Hennessey; Ward, Dann, Delaney, Souare; Cabaye, McArthur, Puncheon; Bolasie, Wickham, Zaha
Man United possible starting lineup:
De Gea; Valencia, Smalling, Blind, Borthwick-Jackson; Carrick, Rooney; Martial, Mata, Lingard; Rashford
Head To Head
Palace's record against Man United does not make encouraging reading for the London club. They have lost 15 of their last 20 against the Red Devils in all competitions - including a 2-0 defeat at Old Trafford in the league last month.
As mentioned, Man United also beat Palace in the 1990 FA Cup final. The two teams played out a 3-3 draw on May 12, before Man United recorded a 1-0 victory in the replay one week later. Overall, Man United have only lost seven of their 48 fixtures with Palace since their first documented clash in 1922.
We say: Palace 1-2 Man United
There is no question that Pardew will have his troops fired up, and Palace's willingness to attack should create an open and entertaining final. Man United, bar the odd slip, have been pretty good in recent months, however, and we expect Van Gaal to deliver the FA Cup to Old Trafford this season.
