Manchester City midfielder Mateo Kovacic missed the FA Cup final against Crystal Palace through injury as the Blues suffered a blow to their Champions League aims. The Croatia international was man of the match in the semi-final victory over Nottingham Forest but did not feel fully fit for the Wembley showdown and was not risked by Pep Guardiola . The Etihad chief sprang plenty of surprises with his line-up, cutting academy graduates Rico Lewis and James McAtee from the squad entirely while naming an attacking XI that included Erling Haaland, Omar Marmoush, Kevin De Bruyne, Jeremy Doku and Savinho with Bernardo Silva the most defensive minded midfield player. On his team Guardiola said: "We try to create against a team that is really good in transition and really good in set pieces. For that the only way to break up is talent, that is why today we decided that way. He added: "With Erling Haaland we won the treble and he scored I don't know how many goals. I don't know if he will be able to play all the game but I decided to play with him." City still need points to secure a spot in next season's Champions League and welcome Bournemouth to the Etihad on Tuesday night before ending the season at Fulham next weekend. And Guardiola didn't want to risk Kovacic at Wembley given the tight turnaround. "He doesn't feel perfect. Tuesday we have a game, and I don't want to take a risk," the boss said. --- Here at the Manchester Evening News, we’re dedicated to bringing you the best Manchester City coverage and analysis. Make sure you don’t miss out on the latest City news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe. You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day’s biggest stories. And finally, if you’d rather listen to our expert analysis then make sure to check out our Talking City podcast. Our shows are available on all podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts , and you can also watch along on YouTube .