ERLING HAALAND could be key to winning the FA Cup final... but not necessarily for Manchester City.
head to looking to win their first-ever trophy having reached the and 2016.
On both occasions they lost to Manchester United in nail-biting games.
But they’ll be hoping to use their late-season form to snatch glory from another Manchester side, this time , amid their worst-ever season under .
The eight-time Premier League champions have been boosted by the return of fit-again .
But could that be more of a problem than a solution for Guardiola?
SunSport’s Dean Scoggins runs through why Haaland’s comeback in the capital could be to the Eagles’ advantage.
Will Man City be forced to change their shape for Haaland?
Yes, they will.
When you play with a false nine, whether that’s Phil Foden or Omar Marmoush or whoever, Pep plays in just a different way.
What I expect to see is Haaland as the target man and City trying to create a triangle off him.
We’ve talked about this in previous shows, where you’ve got Marmoush one side and maybe Foden or De Bruyne in an area where they’ll go then beyond Haaland.
This is actually where Palace might hope that City change their formation in order to suit Haaland.
It will benefit them because their defenders are going to be a little bit more free.
The right centre-back, maybe Maxence Lacroix and the left centre-back being Marc Guehi, they might be a bit more free off and on the ball if the midfield players do their job.
So therefore, if City push their wingers on, those centre-backs can cover and the rest of the team get the freedom going the other way.
Eberechi Eze key for Crystal Palace
That’s when they’ll be trying to free up Eze... and, It sounds ridiculous, but I think it might actually suit Palace if Haaland plays.
Yes, he’s a goal threat, but in open play, it gives you that option to get the game forward.
In the game at the Etihad earlier this season, Palace pushed their full-backs right up on Man City... if they do that in this game, they’re going to end up getting Eze in areas where he’s most dangerous.
And if the ball goes in direct to him, he can cause a real problem going the other way.
So, what’s the verdict?
It’s a difficult one because in one way, obviously you’ve got to defend against Haaland and he’s the best striker in the Premier League...
But from a tactical perspective, if you can trust a centre-back to do a job on him 1v1, it actually gives you the option to overload going the other way.
We’ve seen it in games against Liverpool where Virgil van Dijk has done it and Ibrahima Konate has done it – and we’ve seen it in a Manchester United game where Harry Maguire did it because he wants to play that combative way.
I’m not saying that Haaland’s not going to score and Man City aren’t going to be ridiculously dangerous.
But if Palace get their transition right from defence into attack, they could end up getting Eze in the position they want him.
