⚽ The Weekend Ahead
🏆 Manchester City, Crystal Palace Meet in FA Cup Final
One final domestic trophy remains in England this Saturday at Wembley Stadium: the FA Cup. The final features a classic “David vs. Goliath” scenario with Manchester City facing Crystal Palace.
Manchester City enters their third consecutive FA Cup final as heavy favorites, highly motivated after a trophyless season so far, their first since Pep Guardiola`s debut campaign in 2016-17. Despite a patchy start to the season, Guardiola`s side has improved significantly in the latter half, even remaining mathematically in contention for second place in the Premier League.
City will be boosted by the return of star striker Erling Haaland from an ankle injury. He played a full 90 minutes last week and is expected to be a key figure. Their dominant 5-2 win over Crystal Palace in April serves as a potential blueprint, with five different players scoring in that match, including Kevin de Bruyne.
This final could be one of the last appearances for Kevin de Bruyne in a City shirt, marking the potential end of his illustrious decade with the club. He and Haaland have formed a prolific partnership, combining for 25 goals across 92 games. Haaland spoke highly of his teammate`s impact:
- `It`s been a pleasure to play with him. Hopefully in the last couple of games we`re going to have a really good time. We clicked straight away from the first second and it`s going to be emotional when a good friend leaves. Maybe the best player ever to play for City – one of the best to play in the Premier League as well. Hopefully we can make it a good one in the last few weeks. You really can`t replace a player like him because he`s got something so special with the way he puts the ball into the box. You can see many of my goals are assisted by him and some of them have been ridiculous. We have to make the best out of it and give him a good farewell.`
Crystal Palace arrives at Wembley for only their third-ever FA Cup final, aiming for their first major top-flight trophy. Led by their key attackers Jean-Philippe Mateta and Eberechi Eze, who have netted a combined 29 goals this season, Palace hopes to pull off a significant upset. Only one team outside the traditional “big six” (Leicester City in 2021) has lifted the FA Cup since Wigan Athletic`s win in 2013, highlighting the magnitude of the task for Palace.
🔗 Midfield Link Play
🇮🇹 A Serie A Weekend of Epic Proportions
Serie A`s dramatic title race reaches its penultimate stage this Sunday, with all ten matches kicking off simultaneously. The spotlight will be on games involving the two title contenders, Inter and Napoli.
Napoli holds a one-point lead entering the weekend and faces a seemingly favorable match against 16th-placed Parma. However, last week`s surprising 2-2 draw against Genoa has raised questions about their ability to seal the title. Despite outshooting Genoa 22-8, a late own goal cost them victory, making their performance less convincing than the sheer volume of attacks suggested. Sunday offers a chance to regain control and put pressure on Inter.
Inter faces a tougher challenge against fifth-placed Lazio, who are level on points with Juventus and pushing hard for a Champions League spot. Inter benefited from Napoli`s slip last week and secured a crucial 2-0 win at Torino, seemingly shifting momentum in their favor, especially after reaching the Champions League final. Their match against Lazio will be a genuine test of their title aspirations, despite being considered favorites.
🔗 Top Stories
- 🔵🔴 Barcelona win La Liga: Barcelona clinched La Liga`s title with a win over Espanyol, which offered yet another example of Hansi Flick`s transformation and Lamine Yamal`s excellence.
- 🇮🇹 Bologna win Coppa Italia: Bologna`s 51 year wait to win the Coppa italia is officially over, beating AC Milan 1-0 on Wednesday in Rome to bring the drought to a close.
- 🆕 NWSLPA`s demand: The NWSL Players Association demands a policy change on game postponement after a medical event involving Angel City`s Savy King last week.
- ❓ Who is Dean Huijsen?: Here`s a closer look at Bournemouth center back Dean Huijsen, who might be Real Madrid`s first major signing this summer.
- ↕️ NWSL power rankings: Ahead of another weekend of NWSL action, here`s a look at which teams are trending upwards and which ones have room for improvement with the latest batch of power rankings.
- 🌎 FIFA Congress walkout: Several members of the FIFA Congress staged a walkout on Thursday as rebuke to president Gianni Infantino, who was three hours late to their annual meeting after spending the week in the Middle East with U.S. president Donald Trump.
- 🏟️ Incident at Espanyol-Barcelona: At least eight people were left with minor injuries after a car plowed into a crowd outside RCDE Stadium during Espanyol`s clash with Barcelona.
