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FourFourTwo

Sport

Adrian Back

How to watch Crystal Palace vs Manchester City: Live stream the FA Cup final, preview, team news

Crystal Palace Palace FA Cup the FA Cup EPL ESPN Adam Wharton Eberechi Eze JeanPhilippe Mateta Pep Guardiola

Fans walking down Wembley way are seen prior to the Emirates FA Cup Semi Final match between Crystal Palace and Aston Villa at Wembley Stadium on April 26, 2025 in London, England.

Watch Crystal Palace vs Manchester City as the Eagles go in search of their first-ever major trophy against a City team that is desperate to avoid a repeat of last year’s FA Cup final defeat. This guide explains how to watch Crystal Palace vs Man City online via live stream, on TV, and from anywhere with a VPN.

Crystal Palace vs Manchester City key information

• Date: Saturday, 17 May 2025

• Kick-off time: 4.30pm BST / 11:30pm ET

• Venue: Wembley Stadium, London

• FREE stream: BBC iPlayer / ITVX

• Other streams: ESPN+ (US), Sportsnet (Canada), Optus (Australia)

• Watch from anywhere: Try NordVPN risk-free

Can I watch Crystal Palace vs Manchester City in the UK?

In the UK, fans have a choice as they can watch Crystal Palace vs Manchester on BBC or ITV for FREE.

For TV viewers, BBC 1 and ITV 1 are the channels you need. If you are looking for a live stream then you can use either BBC iPlayer or ITVX.

Coverage begins at 3.25pm BST on BBC and at 3pm on ITV1.

Away from the UK right now? You can still tune in from abroad by using a VPN – more on that below.

How to watch Crystal Palace vs Manchester City from anywhere

Out of the country on Saturday? That doesn't mean you have to miss the game. A VPN - or Virtual Private Network - means you can set your IP address to make your device appear to be in any country in the world, bypassing streaming geo-restrictions.

Provided it complies with your broadcaster’s T&Cs, you can use a VPN to unblock the streaming services you use back home. It also comes with added internet security benefits, which sounds like a winner to us.

FourFourTwo’s colleagues at TechRadar are experts in this field, and they reckon NordVPN is the best VPN provider on the market.

Watch Crystal Palace vs Manchester City streams globally

► How to watch FA Cup live streams from anywhere in 2024/25

Can I watch Crystal Palace vs Manchester City in the US?

In the US, you can watch Crystal Palace vs Manchester City on ESPN's streaming platform, ESPN+.

ESPN+ subscriptions start at $11.99 a month or $119.99 a year, which gets you all the FA Cup games this season.

Can I watch Crystal Palace vs Manchester City in Canada?

Canadians can watch Crystal Palace vs Manchester City in the FA Cup final on Sportsnet, with the FA Cup broadcasting solely on their platform this season. Prices start from $20.83 a month, with savings for longer-term plans.

► FA Cup all-time top scorers

Can I watch Crystal Palace vs Manchester City in Australia?

Fans in Australia can watch Crystal Palace vs Manchester City on Optus Sport, which also carries all Premier League games. A monthly subscription costs $24.99.

Can I watch Crystal Palace vs Manchester City in New Zealand?

Fans in New Zealand can watch Crystal Palace vs Manchester City on Sky Sport Now.

► Players who went back to their former clubs

Crystal Palace vs Manchester City: Preview

Even in a season where they have failed to compete for the title, Manchester City still have the chance to pick up some silverware. Pep Guardiola’s side may have suffered nine league defeats but they have been excellent in the FA Cup, reaching their third straight final with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Nottingham Forest.

Having lost 2-1 to bitter rivals Manchester United in last year’s final, City will be desperate to lift the trophy for an eighth time. To do so, they will need to be at their best, as they were last month when they secured a thumping 5-2 victory over Palace at the Etihad.

Palace warmed up for their third FA Cup final appearance with a dominant 2-0 win over Tottenham and will arrive at Wembley full of confidence. Olivier Glasner’s side have been superb in the second half of the season, as was highlighted with their impressive 3-0 win over Aston Villa in the semi-finals.

The Eagles will also have been boosted by seeing City struggle in the 0-0 draw with already-relegated Southampton at the weekend. Palace have the ability to keep it tight at the back and will believe their attacking trio of Eberechi Eze, Jean-Philippe Mateta and Ismaila Sarr can take advantage against a City defence that has struggled all season.

Crystal Palace vs Manchester City: Team news

The major concern for Palace is whether influential midfielder Adam Wharton will be fit to start. The 21-year-old will be assessed ahead of kick-off after missing last weekend’s victory over Spurs with a twisted ankle.

Should Wharton miss out, then it is likely Oliver Glasner will stick with Will Hughes and Jefferson Lerma who both started against Tottenham. He is also set to select a front three of Eberechi Eze, Jean-Philippe Mateta and Ismaela Sarr, meaning Eddie Nketiah will have to start on the bench.

As for Man City, they will be without long-term absentees Rodri, Nathan Ake, Oscar Bobb and John Stones. However, the rest of the squad is fit so there are plenty of options for Pep Guardiola to consider.

The Spanish manager is likely to choose from either Nico O'Reilly or Matheus Nunes to play at right back, while Phil Foden and James McAtee both struggled against Southampton last weekend, meaning Jeremy Doku and Omar Marmoush could come into consideration.

Mateo Kovacic, Ilkay Gundogan, Bernardo Silva and Nico Gonzalez will all be in contention to start, while Kevin de Bruyne is also certain to play a role as he bids to bow out with yet another trophy to his name.