MANCHESTER City and Chelsea are set to go head-to-head in the FA Cup final today at Wembley.
It will be the fourth straight final for ‘s men, who look to claim their second trophy this season, having collected the League Cup in March.
Erling Haaland will hope to break his Wembley curse in the FA Cup final today Credit: Getty
Reece James has returned from his hamstring injury Credit: Getty
Meanwhile, struggling Chelsea have not won a game in the Premier League since beating Aston Villa 4-1 more than two months ago.
Man City rolled Chelsea over in their 3-0 victory at Stamford Bridge in April.
But in the winter reverse fixture, Enzo Fernandez found the back of the net in injury time to cancel out ‘ goal, leaving then-interim boss Callum McFarlane with a point from the Etihad.
Historically Chelsea have won 71, drawn 42, and lost 69 games against Man City.
But the ‘Pep Era’ has brought a flurry of silverware to the Etihad.
Under the Spaniard, City have already won the competition three times and a fourth straight final appearance today is unheard of.
After losing to Chelsea in the 2020/21 Champions League final, City have not lost any of their last 13 matches against the London outfit in all competitions.
It is their longest unbeaten run against them with ten wins and three draws.
Chelsea’s 13-game winless streak versus City is their longest against a single team since going 17 without a win against Arsenal between January 1999 and March 2004.
Last year, Oliver Glasner’s Crystal Palace bettered the Cityzens to win their first ever major trophy after departing volleyed a first-half goal.
This time around has been backed to break his curse in the capital after failing to score in all seven of his appearances at Wembley.
Boss Guardiola was unaware of his unwanted record.
When he was told, Pep said: “Oh really? That’s good then. I like this kind of question because it means on Saturday it’s going to happen.
“When it’s a question about the opposite side and their records I don’t like it – but on our side it’s good. On Saturday, he will score.”
City head into the fixture as 2/5 favourites compared to Chelsea who are seen as a 9/4 shot by the bookies.
This will be Chelsea’s 17th final in the world’s oldest competition, the third most after Manchester United and Arsenal.
Despite seeing eight wins and eight losses, they have lost their last three.
Nonetheless, the meeting is set to bring together the best of the competition as City and Chelsea lead the record of most wins since the 2016/17 – with 45 and 37 respectively.
They’ve also scored the most goals with 159 for City and 111 for Chelsea.
And they’ve kept the most clean sheets – City 28, Chelsea 26.
Over the last 23 games for City, they’ve only ever lost in the 2024 and 2025 finals, which will be a silver lining for their opponents.
But Chelsea have to prepare for City’s shots per game to be higher in the finals, as the stats show they increase from their third round and semi-final games.
That said, their shot conversion in finals is just two percent compared to 19 percent in the earlier rounds.
Meanwhile, Chelsea’s last eight matches at the national stadium have produced only seven goals in total with 4 scored and three conceded.
They have also failed to score in each of their last four Wembley finals since a fifth minute goal against Arsenal in the 2020 FA Cup final.
But today they’ll be without the American star, just like they will be without youngster Estevao, who picked up a hamstring injury in their 1-0 loss to Man Utd.
Robert Sanchez missed the Liverpool game after clashing heads with in their 3-1 loss to the Tricky Trees.
Alejandro Garnacho and Pedro Neto missed the last two games with minor knocks but should be available.
Skipper has returned from his hamstring-linked absence.
By contrast, City are looking near full strength, excusing who will miss the fixture with a groin issue.
The Spanish midfielder is training but Pep has not confirmed his involvement.
Haaland, and are likely to return to the starting XI after being rested against Crystal Palace, with predicted to start in goal.
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Eze Chidiebere Paul
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