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Steve Parish: ‘Crystal Palace can not waste this opportunity’

Manchester United midfielder Andreas Pereira has accused Louis van Gaal of reneging on his promise of game time with the first-team after blocking a proposed loan move during this year January transfer window.

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“Silverware is always important, because it is an exciting moment to be close to winning a trophy”, van Gaal said.

Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish has admitted that he is determined for his side to learn from the past and make the most of their FA Cup final appearance.

“We are very close, but still you have nothing when you don’t win”.

United is bidding to win a record-tying 12th FA Cup title, matching Arsenal’s haul.

United had to beat the south coast side 19-0 on Tuesday and for 45 minutes it looked as if the season might end less with a bang than a Van Gaal-inspired whimper.

“The game has changed but United have lost that aura”. The only way Manchester United will be able to let Van Gaal go is by sacking him.

The Reds boss decided that he and his players would stay within a stone’s throw of the national stadium, just as they did for the semi-final, in order to focus their minds on the showpiece event.

However, United has definitely held a firm upper hand in league encounters between the two teams since Palace returned to the Premier League in 2013-14, winning five of their six encounters and drawing in the other.

But they have shown superb form in the cup, notably eliminating Southampton, Stoke City, Tottenham Hotspur and Watford, and now find themselves on the brink of a historic achievement. “I have always had a special admiration for the club since I was small and watched Cristiano Ronaldo playing there”.

“There’s no complaints from us as players. This group has the opportunity to put something permanent there — the first major trophy for this club”.

Joe Ledley (broken leg) is out for Palace but Pardew hopes to have Scott Dann, Zaha, Connor Wickham and Yohan Cabaye available after they were rested for the 4-1 loss to Southampton last week.

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Midfield: Marouane Fellaini is back after serving his three-match suspension but Morgan Scheniderlin is likely to start ahead of the Belgian global after overcoming the illness that kept him out of the Bournemouth game.

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