The 2016 FA Cup Final is the 135th final of the FA Cup, the world's oldest football cup competition. It will be televised in the UK on BBC One and BT Sport, as well as worldwide by FA partners. The match will be contested between Crystal Palace and Manchester United in a repeat of the 1990 FA Cup Final. The FA confirmed on 28 April that Mark Clattenburg, from Consett, County Durham, will be the referee for the match.The winner will qualify for the 2016 FA Community Shield and the group stage of the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League. If Manchester United win, as they have already qualified for the Europa League, the Europa League spot will be allocated to West Ham United as the highest placed Premier League team not already qualified for European competitions.
Manchester United go into the final with a record of 11 wins from 18 FA Cup finals, one win and appearance behind Arsenal in FA Cup wins and FA Cup Final appearances respectively. United last played a final in 2007, the first at the new Wembley, where they lost 1–0 after extra time to Chelsea. Their last victory in the competition was in 2004, a 3–0 win against Millwall at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium. Crystal Palace's only previous FA Cup final was the aforementioned 1990 final, which they lost to Manchester United after a replay
CRYSTAL PALACE
As a Premier League team, Crystal Palace started in the third round. They were drawn away at fellow Premier League team Southampton. At St Mary's Stadium on 9 January, Crystal Palace won 2–1 with goals from Joel Ward and Wilfred Zaha either side of Oriol Romeu's equaliser.In the fourth round, they hosted another top-flight team in the shape of Stoke City at Selhurst Park, and Zaha scored the only goal. For the third consecutive round they had Premier League opposition in the shape of Tottenham Hotspur in the fifth round on 21 February. At White Hart Lane, Crystal Palace won with Martin Kelly scoring the only goal at the end of the first half to advance to the quarter-finals for the first time since 1995.
There, they had their first game against a lower-division team, facing Championship side Reading at the Madejski Stadium. A 2–0 win through Yohan Cabaye and Fraizer Campbell put them into the last four, again for the first time in 21 years. On 24 April at Wembley, Palace faced Watford in a repeat of the 2013 Football League Championship play-off Final. They took the lead through Yannick Bolasie, and Watford equalised when Troy Deeney headed in a corner from José Manuel Jurado. In the 61st minute, Palace found their winning goal as Connor Wickham headed from a Pape Souaré cross.
MANCHESTER UNITED
As a Premier League team, Manchester United entered in the third round, hosting Sheffield United of League One at Old Trafford on 9 January 2016. They got their first shot on target through substitute Memphis Depay, who was fouled in added time by Dean Hammond for a penalty kick, from which Wayne Rooney scored the only goal with United's only other shot on target. Manager Louis van Gaal was under pressure for Manchester United's poor form prior to the match, and the victory was compared to one in the same competition in 1990, in which a goal by Mark Robins reportedly saved the career of Alex Ferguson.
Twenty days later in the next round, United travelled to Pride Park to play Derby County, situated in the play-off places in the Championship. Rooney scored the first goal from outside the penalty area, but George Thorne soon equalised. In the second half, further United goals by Daley Blind and Juan Mata relieved Van Gaal of further pressure; it was the first time in 15 games that the team won by a margin of more than one goal.
On 22 February, United played the fifth round away at League One strugglers Shrewsbury Town. Chris Smalling opened the scoring, and Mata doubled the advantage in first-half added time. Jesse Lingard confirmed a 3–0 win with about half an hour left to play; in the closing stages United had to play with only ten men when Will Keane was injured and no substitutes remained.
United hosted their sixth-round match against top-flight opponents West Ham United on 13 March. The visitors took the lead via a free-kick from Dimitri Payet, and only seven minutes remained when the hosts equalised with Anthony Martial's close-range finish. A month later, the game went to a replay, the final FA Cup match at the Boleyn Ground. A curled effort from Marcus Rashford gave Manchester United a lead in the second half, and the lead was doubled by Marouane Fellaini. West Ham halved the deficit late on after James Tomkins' header passed into David de Gea's net, and they threatened an equaliser but could not achieve it.
On 23 April, Manchester United travelled to Wembley to play Everton in the semi-finals. Martial assisted Fellaini to open the scoring against his former team, giving a half-time lead. After the break, a penalty was given when Timothy Fosu-Mensah fouled Ross Barkley, but De Gea saved the spot-kick after Romelu Lukaku took it. Everton brought on Gerard Deulofeu whose cross was put into Smalling's own net to level the scores. In added time, Ander Herrera set up Martial for the winner.
In ITALY, the Old Lady of
Italian football have a strong chance to become the first team to secure
consecutive league and cup doubles when they take on the Rossoneri this
weekend. Juventus head into the Coppa Italia final at the Stadio Olimpico
on Saturday on the brink of a historic achievement, but Mattia De
Sciglio thinks AC Milan can stop them.Massimiliano Allegri led the club to a fifth straight Scudetto this season and they will be looking to become the first Italian side to win back-to-back doubles in Rome. After losing Andrea Pirlo, Arutro Vidal and Carlos Tevez, Juve recovered from a woeful start to the campaign that saw them lie in 14th position after winning just two of their first eight games. However, a phenomenal recovery that included a 26-game unbeaten streak propelled them to the title with a nine-point advantage. Juve could now become the first side to successfully defend the Serie A and Coppa titles. In order to do so, the Bianconeri must overcome Allegri's former side, Milan.
Having finished seventh in the top flight, Cristian Brocchi's team require a Coppa triumph in order to avoid a third straight season without European football. Milan full-back De Sciglio is feeling confident, suggesting they could pull off an upset."We believe it can be done. If we play together we have a good chance. In a final, just one moment can prove to be decisive," he told Milan Channel."They are the champions of Italy, but we know how to play against them. It will be important that we stay compact and limit their players."
Milan lost both encounters with Juve this season, going down 1-0 in Turin before a 2-1 defeat at San Siro. Their last victory over the Bianconeri came in November 2012 and Milan president Silvio Berlusconi wants cup glory to salvage some pride from another difficult season."Victory in the Coppa would give a new meaning to the season," he is quoted as saying by the club's official website."You have to give everything you have inside and more.
It would be a big achievement for Milan to obtain direct qualification to Europe, as well as allowing the club to win its 29th trophy in 30 years."The Rossoneri have concerns over the fitness of Luca Antonelli and Ignazio Abate, but M'Baye Niang could be in contention after almost three months out with ankle and shoulders problems sustained in a car crash having returned to full training.Juve are unable to count upon key centre-back Leonardo Bonucci due to suspension, while Sami Khedira has not been included in the squad following a calf injury.
Pierre-Emerick
Aubameyang is eager to avoid a third consecutive German Cup final
defeat, while their opponents' impending Manchester City boss is looking
to exit on a high. Pep Guardiola's last match in charge of Bayern Munich
will see the German champions take on Borussia Dortmund in the DFB-Pokal
final on Saturday.
Bayern ended up winning the Bundesliga for a fourth
straight season, but Thomas Tuchel's Dortmund kept them honest in the
title race until the penultimate week of the league campaign. Germany's
top two now meet in Berlin as both look to seize upon the last chance to
secure silverware in 2015-16. With Bayern having crashed out of the
Champions League at the semi-final stage for a third straight season,
the Pokal crown would give them a double to send Guardiola out on a
high. Meanwhile, Dortmund need to win if they are to avoid finishing the
campaign without a major trophy after former boss Jurgen Klopp's
Liverpool knocked them out of the Europa League quarter-finals.
Dortmund
defeated Guardiola's side in last season's Pokal semi-finals, but have
lost the last two finals against Bayern in 2014 and Wolfsburg in
2015. That is a run star striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – who has
scored 39 goals in all competitions – is desperate to bring to an end,
with 100,000 Dortmund fans expected to travel to the capital."I think we
have got a 50-50 chance – a final is a final and anything can happen,"
the 26-year-old told the Bundesliga's official website."I hope we can
win it this year. We have lost the last two years and it is time that we
win."We have got to see how it goes, but I believe we can do it. While
we know it is going to be hard, we simply have to win."
Aubameyang talked
up his close relationship with team-mate Marco Reus, while praising
Tuchel after his solid debut campaign as head coach. He continued: "Reus
is fantastic, seriously – a top guy. We are on the same wavelength, even
if he is a little less crazy than I am! We've got the same mentality
and I feel really relaxed around him. We want to achieve a lot
together. "Tuchel has done really well. He's introduced a lot of new
things. We have a lot of fun in training and that is really good for
us."
At the other end of the pitch, Thomas Muller is eager to send
Guardiola out on a high and add to the club's record 17 Pokal titles
after he also enjoyed an impressive campaign, netting 32 times,
including a team-leading four in this competition. "If I were a coach, I
would ideally leave with a trophy from my last match," he said to
Bayern's official website. "Winning the cup is a big target" Bayern start
nearly every game as favourites, but both teams boast excellent
quality. I don't think the teams will enjoy a lot of space."It will be a
bit of a test of endurance, but I hope it will still be a good game for
the fans."On his own impressive record, Muller added: "The most important
thing to me is that the players around me – possibly thanks to me –
produce their best performance and we win as a team. I know it sounds
like a cliche, but it's no use to me if I score three goals and we lose
4-3. I will still be in a bad mood for the whole of Sunday."Xabi Alonso
is hoping to be passed fit as he continues his recovery from bruised
ribs, while Javi Martinez (ankle) is another concern. Arjen Robben
(adductor) is expected to miss out. Dortmund, who claimed the last of
their three Pokals in 2012, are without Ilkay Gundogan (knee) and Neven
Subotic (arm) has not played since March.
The 2015–16 Coupe de France is the 99th season of the most prestigious football cup competition of France. The competition is organised by the French Football Federation (FFF) and is open to all clubs in French football, as well as clubs from the overseas departments and territories (Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Mayotte, New Caledonia (Hienghène Sport, winner of 2015 New Caledonia Cup), Tahiti (A.S. Pirae, winner of 2015 Tahiti Cup), Réunion, and Saint Martin). PSG are the defending champions, having defeated AJ Auxerre in the previous season's final. This year's final pitches PSG against Marseille.
The 2016 Copa del Rey Final will be a football match on 22 May 2016 to decide the winner of the 2015–16 Copa del Rey, the 114th edition of Spain's primary football cup. It will be played at the Vicente Calderón Stadium in Madrid.
It will be played between the reigning champions, Barcelona, and Sevilla. Both teams had victories by wide margins on their way to the final; Barcelona scored 25 goals and conceded five in eight games, while Sevilla scored 22 times in their eight matches, conceding only two goals in the second leg of their semi-final.
Barcelona had previously played in 37 Copa del Rey finals, second only to Real Madrid's 39, and had a record 27 victories. They are the reigning champions, having defeated Athletic Bilbao 3–1 in the previous year's final at their Camp Nou.
Sevilla had been to seven finals, winning five, most recently in 2010 when they defeated Atlético Madrid 2–0 at the Camp Nou. Their last defeat was in 1962, 2–1 to Real Madrid. The 2016 final was the first between the two sides.
It will be the 13th such final at the Vicente Calderón Stadium in Madrid, home of Atlético Madrid. Barcelona previously won the final at the ground in 1968, 1981 and 2012, and lost in 1974 and 1986. It will be Sevilla's first final at the stadium, although three of their victories came elsewhere in the Spanish capital.
The two teams began the season against each other in the 2015 UEFA Super Cup in Tbilisi on 11 August, which Barcelona won 5–4 after extra time.
It will be played between the reigning champions, Barcelona, and Sevilla. Both teams had victories by wide margins on their way to the final; Barcelona scored 25 goals and conceded five in eight games, while Sevilla scored 22 times in their eight matches, conceding only two goals in the second leg of their semi-final.
Barcelona had previously played in 37 Copa del Rey finals, second only to Real Madrid's 39, and had a record 27 victories. They are the reigning champions, having defeated Athletic Bilbao 3–1 in the previous year's final at their Camp Nou.
Sevilla had been to seven finals, winning five, most recently in 2010 when they defeated Atlético Madrid 2–0 at the Camp Nou. Their last defeat was in 1962, 2–1 to Real Madrid. The 2016 final was the first between the two sides.
It will be the 13th such final at the Vicente Calderón Stadium in Madrid, home of Atlético Madrid. Barcelona previously won the final at the ground in 1968, 1981 and 2012, and lost in 1974 and 1986. It will be Sevilla's first final at the stadium, although three of their victories came elsewhere in the Spanish capital.
The two teams began the season against each other in the 2015 UEFA Super Cup in Tbilisi on 11 August, which Barcelona won 5–4 after extra time.
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