Wayne Rooney Manchester United
Wayne Rooney will be crucial if Manchester United are to lift the FA Cup trophy at the expense of Crystal PalaceReuters

The silver lining in a disappointing season will be the target for Manchester United when they play Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final on Saturday. A terrific performance at Wembley and a gleeful climb up those stairs to pick up the famous old trophy awaits the team that comes to the party on the big stage.

With Louis Van Gaal under tremendous pressure to deliver Manchester United a trophy for the first time since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, and also to prove that he is the man to take this team forward next season, there will be plenty of pressure on his players. How they cope with that pressure will decide who ends up lifting the title.

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"That is my aim of course," Van Gaal told MUTV when asked about his expectations for this final. "I want to lift the cup here in England and then I have done it in four different countries, but the most important thing is the club, the players and the fans and I hope we can bring the cup home."

Such is the extent of the preparations that Manchester United have made that, they booked a hotel from which Wembley was visible, just so they could get inspired and visualise what to do come Saturday.

"We have selected this hotel because you can always see Wembley Stadium so it's always in their minds, it's psychological," Van Gaal added. "I have done that also with Ajax, they could see the stadium of Besiktas when we played there. In Turkey, you know the fans are very loud and noisy all day and I thought it was good to do that and the result was very positive also."

If those tactics work or not remain to be seen, but if Manchester United play some of the uninspiring football from this season, particularly when in attack mode, Crystal Palace might just end up being the ones smelling of roses.

While this is a massive FA Cup final for Manchester United, it is equally, if not bigger, for Alan Pardew's men. This is another opportunity for Palace to clinch their first major trophy, and while Pardew, as a player went down to Manchester United in the cup final in 1990, the manager is confident of a different result this time around.

"For me, as a player in 1990, I thought: 'Oh, we might win,'" Pardew was quoted as saying by The Guardian. "I didn't think we could win if I am honest. I thought we might.

"But, if it all goes our way this time, I actually think we can win. And I think this group of players think they can win, too. Some players don't get that shot at an FA Cup final. One or two of these players will never play in a final again, so this is their opportunity to get a winner's medal.

"We've had good meetings about what it means for us all. We're well set."

Where to Watch Live

The FA Cup final is set to begin at 5.30 p.m. BST (10 p.m. IST, 12.30 p.m. ET). Live coverage of the Manchester United vs Crystal Palace match in India will be on AXN and AXN HD. The online live streaming option is on Sonyliv.

BBC One and BT Sport 2 will broadcast the FA Cup final match from Wembley live in the UK, while all the action can also be live streamed on BBC iPlayer. BBC Radio 5 Live is the radio option for listeners in the UK.

Viewers in the US can watch Manchester United vs Crystal Palace live on Fox Sports, while the action can be live streamed on FoxSoccer2Go.

Sportsnet World and Watch Sportsnet will broadcast the FA Cup game live in Canada.

Bein Sports will broadcast the match live in the Middle East, France and North Africa, with the live streaming option on Bein Sports Connect. 

Sportsnet World and Watch Sportsnet will broadcast the FA Cup game live in Canada.

Bein Sports will broadcast the match live in the Middle East, France and North Africa, with the live streaming option on Bein Sports Connect. Viewers in South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa can watch the FA Cup final between Manchester United and Crystal Palace live on SuperSport and SuperSport Live.

ESPN will broadcast the match live in Australia, with the live stream option on ESPN Player.Viewers in Singapore can flip their remotes to Eleven.

ESPN and SBS One will broadcast the match live in Australia, with the live stream option on ESPN Player.

Viewers in Singapore can flip their remotes to Eleven, while Astron SuperSport 3 will show the match live in Malaysia. LeTV is the place to be to watch the FA Cup final in China and Hong Kong.