It’s FA Cup final weekend as Manchester City and Chelsea meet at Wembley on Saturday, but it’s a final where the vibes are certainly mixed. Of course, Pep Guardiola and City will want to win and add another trophy to their loaded tcabinet, but it’s also hard not to focus on a Tuesday fixture with Bourmouth as they near running out of time in their chase to catch Arsenal atop the Premier League table.
For Cheslea, things are a bit more tense. A win and the Blues have a Europa League place guaranteed. While that may not feel like a success, they’re closing out the season with their third manager of the year, as Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior have both departed the club, and while riding a seven-match winless streak in the league, the Blues have fallen to ninth in the league. Just winning this match won’t make the season a success for a team that has Champions League aspirations and could face Profit and Sustainability rules challenges if they don’t qualify due to exorbitant spending (and to be fair even if they do qualify, the European version of those rules, Financial Fair Play, is also potentially looming), but ending the season on a high note, and defeating City would be a significant feather in their cap.
How to watch Chelsea vs. Manchester City, odds
- Date: Saturday, May 16 | Time: 10 a.m. ET
- Location: Wembley Stadium — London
- TV: ESPN2 | Live stream: Fubo TV (Try for free)
- Odds: Chelsea +400; Draw +310; Manchester City -161
Interim manager Calum McFarlane will oversee the Blues for this match while facing a City that’s been rotated in recent weeks. Erling Haaland is well rested after spending the entire midweek match facing Crystal Palace on the bench, and that’s something that could spell doom for Chelsea. Omar Marmoush and Antoine Semenyo bagged goals while Phil Foden had a brace of assists to himself in a 3-0 victory where City controlled the match from start to finish.
Given Cole Palmer’s form and Chelsea’s ever-rotating midfield, it will be a tough job trying to stop City in this match, but if they want to make Europe, it’s also their only chance. Being in ninth and out of the running for Champions League, the best that the Blues can reasonably finish is seventh place and a Conference League place. While that is a competition that Chelsea have won in the past, it’s also one where the prize money isn’t enough to offset their financial losses to make a difference. They do have a chance to offset those by winning the Europa League, but the trip of Joao Pedro, Enzo Fernandez, and Palmer to be at their best to have a chance to defeat City.
While that’s all possible, it also feels unlikely as the Blues lost their chance at stability with the departure of Maresca. They’ll need to find a way back, and more focus should be given to ensuring that the next head coach is the right person for the job, while also reviewing how the front office got them here, because another season like this could sink the Blues despite their spending power in the league. It’s an FA Cup final that signals a crossroads as Guardiola’s own future is up in the air, but City winning it would be a step closer to him being able to depart on a high note.
Prediction
Erling Haaland may not have an illustrious record in cup finals, but that won’t matter facing a patchwork Chelsea defense as his strong play will help bag a brace, ensuring that City rolls to another victory by multiple goals this week. Score: Manchester City 3, Chelsea 0
