Manchester City have one last trophy shot with FA Cup final vs. Crystal Palace; Serie A coming down to wire

Happy Friday! Trophies are top of mind once again in Europe, where the FA Cup is on the line and Serie A enters its penultimate weekend with the title still hanging in the balance. I'm Pardeep Cattry with the latest ahead of another busy weekend.

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All times U.S./Eastern

Friday, May 16🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Chelsea vs. Manchester United, 3:15 p.m. (ESPN)

Saturday, May 17🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Crystal Palace vs. Manchester City, 10:30 a.m. (ESPN)

Sunday, May 18🇮🇹 Cagliari vs. Venezia, 2:45 p.m. (Paramount+)🇮🇹 Fiorentina vs. Bologna, 2:45 p.m. (Paramount+)🇮🇹 Hellas Verona vs. Como, 2:45 p.m. (Paramount+)🇮🇹 Inter vs. Lazio, 2:45 p.m. (Paramount+)🇮🇹 Juventus vs. Udinese, 2:45 p.m. (Paramount+)🇮🇹 Lecce vs. Torino, 2:45 p.m. (Paramount+)🇮🇹 Monza vs. Empoli, 2:45 p.m. (Paramount+)🇮🇹 Parma vs. Napoli, 2:45 p.m. (Paramount+)🇮🇹 AS Roma vs. AC Milan, 2:45 p.m. (Paramount+)

⚽ The Forward Line🏆 Manchester City, Crystal Palace meet in FA Cup final

One final trophy is up for grabs in England on Saturday at London's Wembley Stadium, where a classic David vs. Goliath matchup awaits in the FA Cup final.

Manchester City enter their third consecutive FA Cup final as the clear favorites and with plenty of incentive. The shadow of last fall's dismal run of form still lingers, but the ship has steadied for Pep Guardiola's side over the second half of the season, so much so that they are still technically within touching distance of second place in the Premier League table with two games to go. Winning the FA Cup, though, would perhaps be the best way to salvage their season – they are currently trophyless and have not ended a season that way since the 2016-17 campaign, Guardiola's first in charge.

City will benefit from Erling Haaland's presence after the goal-scorer extraordinaire returned from an ankle injury last week. He played 90 minutes in their 0-0 draw with Southampton and will likely be a focal point for Guardiola's side, who may still look to their 5-2 win over fellow finalists Crystal Palace in April as inspiration. Five different players scored that day including Kevin de Bruyne, who is coming to the end of his storied 10-year spell at City and could add one final title to the record. It could also be one of the final outings for de Bruyne alongside Haaland, combining for 25 goals in 92 games so far. The final will be a swan song of sorts for de Bruyne, with tributes slowly and steadily pouring in from many, including Haaland.

• Haaland: "It's been a pleasure to play with him. Hopefully in the last couple of games we're going to have a really good time. We clicked straight away from the first second and it's going to be emotional when a good friend leaves. Maybe the best player ever to play for City – one of the best to play in the Premier League as well. Hopefully we can make it a good one in the last few weeks. You really can't replace a player like him because he's got something so special with the way he puts the ball into the box. You can see many of my goals are assisted by him and some of them have been ridiculous. We have to make the best out of it and give him a good farewell."

Waiting for them at Wembley will be Crystal Palace, who are in their third-ever FA Cup final and are targeting their first-ever title as a top flight team. They will be led by Jean-Philippe Mateta and Eberechi Eze, who have scored a combined 29 goals this season and hope to notch a genuinely impressive accomplishment for the club's history, as well as the competition's recent record. Only one team that is not a member of the traditional big six – Leicester City in 2021 – has won the FA Cup since Wigan Athletic in 2013, so one final cupset could be on its way on Saturday if things swing Palace's way.

📺 Live Sunday

🔗 Midfield Link Play🇮🇹 A Serie A weekend of epic proportions

Serie A action resumes on Sunday, and a dramatic day is in store as Europe's most thrilling title race reaches its penultimate stage. Nine of ten matches will kick off simultaneously, with all eyes on matches in Milan and Parma as Inter and Napoli have their eyes on the title.

Napoli enter the second-to-last week with a one point lead over Inter and with a favorable fixture against 16th place Parma, but last week's surprise 2-2 draw against Genoa has raised questions about whether or not Antonio Conte's side can pull this off. They were arguably unlucky not to win that game after outshooting Genoa 22 to eight, but an own goal hampered their cause and their 1.7 expected goals tally is somewhat paltry for as much attacking might as they showed. They will have a chance to correct course and maintain their grip on top spot on Sunday, keeping the pressure on Inter to perform – and the pressure is mighty.

Inter have a competitive match on the schedule for Sunday against fifth place Lazio, who are tied on points with fourth place Juventus and have their sights set on a top four berth that would ensure their participation in next season's edition of UEFA Champions League. They earned a lucky break with Napoli's draw last week but held up their end of the bargain with a 2-0 win at Torino, a development that makes it feel like the intangible and always fleeting momentum is on Inter's side, especially so after booking a spot in the Champions League final. A game against Lazio, though, will be a true test of their title-winning mettle, even if they are the favorites in this matchup.

🔗 Top Stories

🔵🔴 Barcelona win La Liga: Barcelona clinched La Liga's title with a win over Espanyol, which offered yet another example of Hansi Flick's transformation and Lamine Yamal's excellence.

🇮🇹 Bologna win Coppa Italia: Bologna's 51 year wait to win the Coppa italia is officially over, beating AC Milan 1-0 on Wednesday in Rome to bring the drought to a close.

🆕 NWSLPA's demand: The NWSL Players Association demands a policy change on game postponement after a medical event involving Angel City's Savy King last week.

❓ Who is Dean Huijsen?: Here's a closer look at Bournemouth center back Dean Huijsen, who might be Real Madrid's first major signing this summer.

↕️ NWSL power rankings: Ahead of another weekend of NWSL action, here's a look at which teams are trending upwards and which ones have room for improvement with the latest batch of power rankings.

🌎 FIFA Congress walkout: Several members of the FIFA Congress staged a walkout on Thursday as rebuke to president Gianni Infantino, who was three hours late to their annual meeting after spending the week in the Middle East with U.S. president Donald Trump.

🏟️ Incident at Espanyol-Barcelona: At least eight people were left with minor injuries after a car plowed into a crowd outside RCDE Stadium during Espanyol's clash with Barcelona.

💰 The Back Line💵 Best bets

• FA Cup final -- Eberechi Eze to have 1+ shot on target (-135): Finals can be cagy affairs but Eze has proven himself to be a big game player time and time again. Despite City's defensive improvement, he'll find space to test Ederson with a few shots as he can't be closed down outside the box. If Palace wants to win the FA Cup, they'll need a big performance from the Englishman and he's ready for the pressure.

For more picks, predictions, expert tips and the latest betting news, don't miss out on CBSSports.com's betting home page.

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