Manchester City will be looking to make it through to their 13th FA Cup final when they face Chelsea at Wembley on Saturday.
After triumphing in the competition last season, beating Manchester United in the final, Pep Guardiola’s side will be keen to retain the cup and become the joint-third most successful team in the tournament’s long and illustrious history.
In terms of team news, the Cityzens are expected to have a fully fit squad, with the likes of Kyle Walker (hamstring), Nathan Ake (calf) and John Stones (knock) having all made the matchday squad for the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie against Real Madrid on Wednesday evening. Even so, Guardiola is likely to rotate his team to some degree this weekend due to the tight turnaround between games and the packed upcoming fixture schedule.
Manchester City’s Predicted XI to face Chelsea:
Ortega, Lewis, Dias, Ake, Gvardiol, Kovacic, Silva, Nunes, Alvarez, Haaland, Doku
Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has no less than ten players currently on the sidelines. Enzo Fernandez (hernia), Axel Disasi (knock) and Levi Colwill (toe) are major doubts but Robert Sanchez and Raheem Sterling are set to be back in contention after illness
Christopher Nkunku, Reece James and Lesley Ugochukwu (all hamstring) have been ruled out, while both Wesley Fofana (ACL) and former City academy player Romeo Lavia (thigh) are not expected to play again this season.
Chelsea’s Predicted XI:
Petrovic, Gusto, Chalobah, Silva, Cucurella, Caicedo, Palmer, Gallagher, Madueke, Jackson, Mudryk
Man City v Chelsea Bettings Odds
At the bookies, Guardiola’s men are firm favourites to secure their passage through to the final. Sky Bet are pricing them at 1/2 odds-on to win the match.
A draw after 90 minutes is currently 19/5 with Unibet while a victory for Chelsea is 6/1 with the same bookmaker.
Predicted Score – 2-1 to City
