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Adam Wharton is fit and available to start for Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final against Manchester City today.
The Eagles are back at the home of English football as they seek to lift their first ever major trophy, having twice fallen short in the FA Cup final against Manchester United in 1990 and 2016.
City this time stand in their way, with Pep Guardiola’s side looking to salvage something from a underwhelming campaign at the Etihad.
Palace have a relatively clean bill of health, with their only absentees being Cheick Doucoure and Chadi Riad, who both suffered season-ending injuries in January.
There was concern for Wharton after he picked up an ankle injury in the 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest at the start of May.
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The England midfielder subsequently missed last Sunday’s 2-0 win at Tottenham and faced a race against time to be fit for Wembley.
But speaking in his pre-match press conference on Friday, Oliver Glasner confirmed that the 21-year-old was ready to go: ‘It’s positive team news. Everyone is fit.
‘Adam trained the whole week and is available, and all the others are fit.
‘There are some tough decisions to take – but good decisions to take.’
Palace have had a very settled starting XI throughout the second-half of the season and the only question mark will be who partners Wharton in midfield.
Fan-favourite Will Hughes and Jefferson Lerma are options, but it was Daichi Kamada who was given the nod in the semi-final win over Aston Villa, delivering his best performance in a red and blue shirt.
As for City, Guardiola says his side’s injury situation has not changed since last Saturday’s shock goalless draw at relegated Southampton.
England centre-back John Stones has not featured since the Champions League exit at the hands of Real Madrid in February and is not expected to appear again before the end of the season.
Nathan Ake and Oscar Bobb are back in training as they continue to recover from foot and hamstring injuries but it seems unlikely that they will feature at Wembley.
The Citizens were able to welcome Erling Haaland back against Southampton after two months out, but while the star striker managed to play the full 90 minutes, he struggled to make an impact.
Guardiola did however state that Ballon d’Or winner Rodri is close to returning after tearing his UCL last September and did not rule out a surprise appearance in the final: ‘He is much, much better.
‘I am waiting for the doctors. When they tell me he is ready he is going to start. We don’t want to take a risk and take a step back.’
Predicted Crystal Palace XI to face Man City
Henderson, Richards, Lacroix, Guehi, Munoz, Wharton, Kamada, Mitchell, Sarr, Eze, Mateta
Predicted Man City XI to face Crystal Palace
Ortega, Nunes, Dias, Akanji, Gvardiol, Bernardo, Kovacic, Foden, de Bruyne, Marmoush, Haaland
Where to watch FA Cup final? Kick-off time and TV channel
Crystal Palace vs Manchester City is scheduled to kick off at 4:30pm on Saturday 17 May.
The match is available to watch live on both BBC One and ITV1 with live streaming available through BBC iPlayer and ITVX.
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