Chelsea v Man City: Prediction, team news, line-ups and odds | OneFootball

Manchester City have already set a record before a ball is kicked against Chelsea on Saturday afternoon. By reaching the annual showpiece again, City are the first team to play in four consecutive FA Cup finals.

That said, there has been a sting in the tail for the two most recent finals. Pep Guardiola’s men were upset 1-0 by Crystal Palace last season and suffered defeat in 2023-24 to Manchester United, having beaten their arch rivals in the previous year’s final.

Chelsea are certainly no strangers to Wembley either as this is their 17th FA Cup final. They’ve won eight and lost eight but, like City, recent experiences have been hugely disappointing as the Blues have lost their last three in a row.

Chelsea v Man City kick-off time

Chelsea v Man City kicks off at 3pm BST on Saturday, May 16 at Wembley Stadium.

Chelsea v Man City how to watch

The FA Cup final will be shown live in the UK on BBC 1 and TNT Sports 1, with coverage starting from 1.15pm on the former and 1pm on the latter.

BBC Radio 5 Live and talkSPORT will provide full match radio commentary.

Chelsea team news

Reece James and Levi Colwill returned to action in the 1-1 draw at Liverpool last weekend and both could start at Wembley.

Pedro Neto and Alejandro Garnacho have missed the last two games but Chelsea interim boss Calum McFarlane said both are in contention after training well.

Man City team news

Guardiola was able to rest some of his key men in the 3-0 midweek win over Crystal Palace which kept City’s title hopes alive.

Erling Haaland was an unused sub so will be fresh for this while Nico O’Reilly will return to the squad after being given Wednesday night off.

Rodri remains a doubt having not featured since the Premier League win over Arsenal five matches ago.

Just as he did in the Carabao Cup final win over Arsenal, James Trafford will again start in goal ahead of Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Chelsea v Man City odds

Man City are hot favourites for Wembley glory. They trade at 2/5 to lift the trophy (the price includes extra-time and penalties) while Chelsea are 11/5.

In the 90-minute market, Man City are 7/10 to get it done in regulation time, while Chelsea are 10/3 and The Draw 29/10.

Surprisingly, it’s the first time the two sides have met in an FA Cup final.

Chelsea v Man City prediction

It couldn’t have worked out better for Pep Guardiola on Wednesday night as he left some of his big players on the bench and still won 3-0 anyway.

In terms of managers, it’s a complete mismatch: Pep has won 19 trophies in his time at the Etihad while Chelsea boss Calum McFarlane has only taken charge of a handful of matches.

Head-to-head history only points one way too. Since Chelsea beat Man City in the Champions League final in 2021, they haven’t beaten Pep’s men in any of the last 13 matches. City have won 10 of those.

Chelsea can sometimes pull a rabbit from the hat but drawing 1-1 with an out-of-sorts Liverpool was hardly a sign that they’re about to upset City after a dreadful run.

In what could be Guardiola’s last Wembley final in charge, he can make it a domestic cup double by following the 2-0 win over Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final with another 2-0 win here.

The Man City 2-0 Chelsea scoreline pays 9/1.

Rather than take the obvious route and back Erling Haaland to score, try a couple of other City players.

Jeremy Doku scored in the semi-final win over Southampton and has four goals in his last five games. Back the tricky Belgian winger to net again at 7/2.

This is definitely farewell for Bernardo Silva so, for a good storyline, take the 8/1 he signs off with a goal. The Portuguese playmaker has netted in two of his last eight games away from the Etihad.