Chelsea vs Manchester City: Preview and Prediction

Chelsea and Manchester City will face off in the FA Cup final at Wembley on Saturday, as the focus temporarily shifts from their Premier League objectives.

The 2025/26 season has reached its endgame, and the new two weeks will give us the remaining champions in each competition. The weekend will crown the FA Cup winners after Chelsea vs Manchester City at Wembley on Saturday afternoon.

Chelsea reached the FA Cup final after clinching a hard-fought 1-0 win over Leeds United in the semi-finals. Before that, the West London club had cruised to the penultimate stage, easing past Charlton Athletic, Hull City, and Port Vale while also beating a spirited Wrexham side. However, the Blues have been dreadful otherwise, and they come into Saturday’s clash on the back of a seven-match winless run in the Premier League.

On the other hand, Manchester United qualified for the FA Cup final after leaving it late to beat Southampton. That was the only closely-contested affair for Pep Guardiola’s men in the competition, as they barely broke a sweat in the wins over Exeter City, Salford City, Newcastle United, and Liverpool. Meanwhile, they warmed up for Saturday’s match with successive 3-0 victories in the Premier League, most recently versus Crystal Palace.

Chelsea and Manchester City have already clashed twice this season, with the match at Stamford Bridge ending in a straightforward 3-0 victory for Guardiola and his charges. The Hard Tackle looks closer at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.

Team News & Tactics

Chelsea

Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Sanchez; Gusto, Fofana, Chalobah, Cucurella; James, Caicedo; Palmer, Enzo Fernandez, Neto; Pedro

Manchester City

Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Donnarumma; Nunes, Khusanov, Guehi, O’Reilly; Rodri, Silva; Semenyo, Cherki, Doku; Haaland

Key Stats

• Chelsea are on a 13-game winless run vs Manchester City, their longest against an opponent since going 17 without a victory against Arsenal between January 1999 and March 2004. Since the 2016-17 season, these are the two teams to win the most games in the FA Cup: City (45), Chelsea (37). They have also scored the most goals (City 159, Chelsea 111) and kept the most clean sheets (City 28, Chelsea 26) in that time
• Manchester City are the first team ever to play in four consecutive FA Cup finals, but they have lost the two most recent matches. Coincidentally, Chelsea are the only side to have ever lost the final in this competition in three consecutive campaigns, doing so between 2020 and 2022.
• After winning the EFL Cup final in March, City could make it the sixth instance of a team winning both major English cup competitions, after Arsenal in 1992/93, Liverpool in 2000/01 and 2021/22, Chelsea in 2006/07 and the Citizens themselves in 2018/19.
• Saturday’s match will be Chelsea’s 17th FA Cup final, the third most after Manchester United (22) and Arsenal (21). They have won eight and lost eight thus far. Additionally, the Blues have failed to score in their last four finals at Wembley.
• Enzo Fernandez has been involved in six goals in nine FA Cup appearances for Chelsea (4 goals, 2 assists), having also scored the winner in the semi-final against Leeds United.

Player to Watch

Jeremy Doku

While Enzo Fernandez, Cole Palmer, and Erling Haaland were viable candidates for this section, we have picked Jeremy Doku as the Player to Watch for Saturday’s FA Cup final between Chelsea and Manchester City at Wembley.

No player has been involved in more FA Cup goals than the Belgian winger (3 goals, 5 assists) across the last two seasons. Additionally, his five assists and 40 dribbles are the most of any Premier League player in that time. Considering Haaland’s unimpressive record in finals for City (15 shots without scoring), Doku may have to do the heavy lifting this weekend.

Prediction

Chelsea 0-2 Manchester City

Chelsea’s scoring woes may have finally ended in recent outings, but they have failed to overcome their issues in the final third. Finishing has been the Achilles Heel for the West London club this term, as they have severly underperformed on their xG thus far, and particularly during the scoreless run.

With Manchester City picking up steam in the last few months, another steamrolling may be on the cards. However, unlike the Premier League meeting at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea will not go down without a fight, keeping the Citizens at bay before falling to a defeat. The Hard Tackle predicts a 2-0 win for Pep Guardiola and his charges.