Crystal Palace vs Manchester City: New Rivalry Energy at Selhurst Park

LONDON, SATURDAY — After securing their first major trophy in 120 years since the club's establishment, Crystal Palace will welcome their rivals in the historic 2024-2025 FA Cup final, Manchester City. The clash at Selhurst Park Stadium on Sunday (14/12/2025) at 21:00 WIB has the potential to create a new axis of rivalry between the two football cities, London and Manchester.

Everyone at Palace will never forget the historic victory at Wembley Stadium on May 17. With a solitary goal from Arsenal winger Eberechi Eze, the Eagles brought their first major trophy back to Selhurst Park.

The trophy from the oldest tournament in the world has now entered the cabinet of achievements; it is time for Palace to repeat their historic victory at Wembley over City in front of their own supporters. Certainly, the atmosphere and spirit presented at home will be more resounding compared to the FA Cup final duel last time.

"Honestly, there's always a tremendous amount of energy at our stadium, Selhurst Park. Our fans always bring a lot of energy," said Palace manager Oliver Glasner at a pre-match press conference on Friday (12/13/2025), as quoted by the BBC.

Glasner emphasized that the match against City is his team's ambition to return to winning ways at home. The Eagles had recorded a 12-game unbeaten run at home in the Premier League since February 22. That streak ended with a 2-1 defeat to City's city rivals, Manchester United, on November 30.

"We once had an unbeatable home trend until the match against (Man) United. This is the right time for us to start that positive record again," he added.

In addition to their victory over City in the FA Cup final, Palace has also demonstrated their ability to hold City at Selhurst Park in the English League on December 7, 2024. However, a draw alone is not enough for Palace.

They must pursue victory to prove that they are indeed a nightmare for City. Additionally, this opens the opportunity for a new rivalry between London, represented by Palace, and the team from Manchester. So far, the rivalry between these two football cities in England has felt one-sided, as Arsenal is the only team capable of presenting direct competition to the Manchester duo.

When facing City, we need top performance to achieve victory. However, we also hope for the support of the fans to encourage the players throughout the match.

However, Palace has not defeated City at home for a very long time. The last victory of Palace over City at Selhurst Park occurred on April 7, 2015. It has been more than 10 years. At that time, Palace won 2-1.

In tracing the record of encounters between the two teams in the era of the English Premier League, Palace has only triumphed over Manchester City twice. Prior to 2015, Palace defeated City on April 1, 1995. The final score was also the same, 2-1.

Regarding the recipe for delivering City's third defeat at Selhurst Park in the Premier League era, Glasner stated that his team must play balanced. They need a solid defense as they will be under more pressure, and then make good use of every opportunity created through counterattacks.

"When facing City, we need top performance to achieve victory. However, we also hope for the support of the fans to encourage the players throughout the match," said Glasner.

"We need to present a competitive performance like in the FA Cup final. We hope to see a return of solid defense and outstanding goalkeeper saves. We also require effective play because I am confident we can create three or four goal-scoring opportunities," he continued.

The victory over City will also help Palace maintain their fourth position. With a total of 26 points, Palace is one point ahead of Chelsea and Manchester United, who are below them.

Meanwhile, City is determined to maintain their competition at the top of the standings. They must collect three points from Selhurst Park if they do not want the point gap with Arsenal to widen further. In week 16, Arsenal will face a match that should not be difficult to win when hosting the bottom team, Wolverhampton Wanderers, at the Emirates Stadium.

City's performance is currently impressive. They have secured four consecutive victories, including a triumph over Real Madrid at the Bernabeu Stadium on Thursday (11/12/2025 WIB). During this period, Phil Foden stood out as a key player, contributing five goals and one assist.

Kolo Toure, assistant manager of City, stated that matches against Palace are always challenging. Moreover, this season, Palace has transformed into a team with a solid defense. Having conceded only 12 goals in 15 games places Palace's defensive record just behind Arsenal (9 goals conceded).

"They are a good team and it is very commendable that they are in fourth place. It is difficult to break through their defense. However, we must focus on our own game and hard work during the match will help us defeat anyone in the league," Toure stated in a press conference ahead of the match, as reported on the club's website.