What you need to know before the Crystal Palace FA Cup Final…

Selhurst Park, home for Crystal Palace FC. Pic: Rockybiggs

Selhurst Park, home for Crystal Palace FC. Pic: Rockybiggs

With Crystal Palace facing Manchester United in the FA Cup Final on Saturday, this is what any self-respecting fan simply has to know:

The last time Palace made it to an FA Cup Final was in 1990 where they also faced Manchester United.

The match finished 3-3 but the replay saw United win 1-0 at Wembley.

Wembley Stadium, where the final will be played. Pic: Steve Daniels

Wembley Stadium, where the final will be played. Pic: Steve Daniels

Their 1990 team was the last all-English team to play in the FA Cup Final, while this year the team is expected to include French Yohan Cabaye and Congolese Yannick Bolasie.

Team sheet for the 1990 FA Cup Final. Pic: Wikimedia Commons

Team sheet for the 1990 FA Cup Final. Pic: Wikimedia Commons

Palace, better known as ‘The Eagles’, took the lead in 1990, with Gary O’Reilly scoring just 17 minutes after kick off.

O’Reilly tweeted his support for the team when they reached the final:

At half time, the scores stood at 1-1.

It was in the second half that a recently-recovered Ian Wright was brought on and scored a further two goals for Palace.

However this was not enough to keep United down, who came back with another two goals.

Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew. Pic: Brian Minkoff

Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew. Pic: Brian Minkoff

Alan Pardew, now manager of CPFC played in the 1990 FA Cup Final, as well as the replay.

Twenty-six years later, Crystal Palace beat Watford 2-1 on April 24 to get into the finals, with Connor Wickham scoring the winning goal.

Wickham has made over 100 appearances for Palace and is the team’s star striker.

Fans were concerned that Wickham would miss the final due to injury, but the striker announced today (May 16) that he is ready for the match and up for the team selection.

Connor Wickham - star striker for Crystal Palace

Connor Wickham – star striker for Crystal Palace

The odds on the Eagles winning are currently set on 9/4, while a United win is set at 4/11.

However, this won’t put off Pardew who is desperate for a Palace win. Pardew has reached the FA Cup Final twice before in his career, once as a player for Palace, and the other as a manager for West Ham. However, he has not yet clinched a win.

With the final just a few days away, actor and comedian Ben Bailey Smith, otherwise known as Doc Brown, has come up with his own rap about the team.

Called “Glad All Over Again”, the song is the unofficial soundtrack to the Wembley game and is a pun on their 1960’s anthem “Glad All Over”, by The Dave Clark Five.

Watch the video here:

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