It’s an honour and a privilege to be in FA Cup final, says Guardiola | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola says it's an honour and a privilege to be in a third consecutive FA Cup final this weekend.

We face Crystal Palace at Wembley on Saturday afternoon seeking an eighth triumph in the competition’s history and a third under Guardiola.

Having won the FA Cup in 2019 and 2023 and achieved seven successive semi-finals, this tournament has been a vital part of our incredible success during Guardiola’s trophy-laden reign.

FA Cup final | Match preview

Standing in our way this time around are Oliver Glasner’s in-form Palace, who will be aiming for the first major honour their club has ever won.

Speaking in Friday’s press conference, Guardiola was full of respect for the threat the Eagles pose and the occasion itself.

“It is a fantastic team,” he began.

“They [Crystal Palace] have had a good season, second part. More than a year with Oliver working with the same players.

WATCH: City's best moments in FA Cup finals

“It’s final of the FA Cup, an honour and privilege. Of course we have to perform well. We travel to London and we will try to win the title.”

Palace reached the final by overrunning Aston Villa in their semi-final clash last month, with Eberechi Eze and Ismaila Sarr scoring the goals.

City and Palace have already faced off twice this season, playing out a 2-2 draw at Selhurst Park before we were 5-2 winners at the Etihad in April.

Having paid close attention to Glasner’s team, Guardiola analysed their attacking players including Eze, Sarr and Jean-Philippe Mateta.

“Mateta is strong on long balls and after that I would say their quality with Eze is obvious,” he said.

“Sarr in the semi-final punished Villa a lot. [Adam] Wharton is a really good holding midfielder who links well.

"It is a final. If we played against Villa it would be the same.”

WATCH: Every goal in City's journey to the FA Cup final

With 18 major honours already in Guardiola’s time at the Club, we’ve become well used to lifting silverware in recent years.

The boss says he and his squad are just as hungry to add to that collection in this game.

“When we are here we want to lift the trophy. Last year we were disappointed with our performance," he said.

“To win the trophy you have to be there and win previous games and we have done it many times in previous years.”

FA Cup final app coverage

Our official Man City app allows you to follow all of the action from Wembley in one place.

Minute-by-minute text updates will begin in our Matchday Centre two hours before kick-off, while our Matchday Live show will begin at around 15:15 (UK).

Michael Brown and Andy Morrison will be the guests on the latest Matchday Live show, offering their expert insight before, during and after the action.

During the game, you can also listen to live audio commentary from Alistair Mann (via CITY+), while our text commentary continues.

Make sure to have push notifications turned on as well, so you can be alerted to key moments in the action, including goals, red cards and the team news.

Both a shortened and extended highlights package can be accessed from 12:00 (UK) on Sunday 18 May, as well as a full-match replay (via CITY+).