Manchester United will be extra motivated to beat Crystal Palace and lift the FA Cup at Wembley Stadium, this evening.

If United succeed in claiming the honour, they will share the record with Arsenal in the all-time winners’ list with 12 FA Cup titles each.

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal was heavily criticised after the upset to West Ham United last week. That meant, the Red Devils had lost their chance of a place in the Champions League next season even if they had Tuesday’s match against Bournemouth in hand.

United had to settle for fifth place after beating the Cherries 3-1. The match was put forward 48 hours after a bomb scare at Old Trafford on Sunday, the last day of the Premier League.

United were never in the running for the league and fourth place was taken by their rivals Manchester City.

That made it all the more bitter for Van Gaal. Probably, if the Dutchman is shown the backdoor with one year to go in his contract, it will be for this reason mainly as a year without Champions League football at Old Trafford will cost the club millions of pounds.

This week, the resilient Van Gaal said he was confident that he will be at the helm of the Mancunians next season.

It seems that Van Gaal had personally pulled the plug on the move for Benfica star midfielder Renato Sanches. The 18-year-old instead opted to join Bayern Munich. Meanwhile, speculation over a move for Jose Mourinho continues unabated.

There is little doubt, however, that Van Gaal will do his job prospects no harm at all if he can deliver a measure of success by leading the side to FA Cup success at the end of what has been a difficult and frustrating campaign.

Palace manager Alan Pardew is pinning his hopes on his team to deliver in north London today.

“We’ll play a team who are, potentially, a great side,” Pardew said.

“United are the biggest club in the world so it’s a tough task for us. But we have got players who can hurt any team. United will have a difficult game in the final.

“We had a lot of injuries to deal with but this group of players I have is a pleasure to manage. Even when we had difficult results in the league they never lost their work traits on the training ground.”

In the semi-finals, Crystal Palace eliminated Watford 2-1 to book their place in the final for the second time in the club’s 111-year history.

Palace clashed against United in the FA Cup showdown of 1990.

On that occasion, United, under the charge of Alex Ferguson, beat Steve Coppell’s side 1-0 in a replay after a 3-3 draw.

The Palace team in the final of 16 years ago included Pardew who played in midfield.

South matters

London clubs have won the FA Cup six times in the last nine years and today Crystal Palace will strive to continue the trend.

2015 Arsenal-Aston Villa 4-0

2014 Arsenal-Hull City3-2

2012 Chelsea-Liverpool 2-1

2010 Chelsea-Portsmouth 1-0

2009 Chelsea-Everton 2-1

2007 Chelsea-Man. United 1-0

Head-to-head

In the Premiership this season, Manchester United were held to a 0-0 draw away at Crystal Palace. In the return, at Old Trafford, United won 2-0. In past FA Cup encounters, these two teams clashed on four occasions. United hold the upper hand.

1990 final

Man. United vs Crystal Palace3-3

1990 final (replay)

Man. United vs Crystal Palace1-0

1995 SEMI-FINAL

Man. United vs Crystal Palace2-2

1995 SEMI-FINAL (replay)

Man. United vs Crystal Palace2-0

Today’s Finals

English Fa Cup

Crystal Palace vs Man. United 18.30

Scottish Cup

Rangers vs Hibernian16.00