"No-one should rule them out": Chelsea bidding to salvage Europe in FA Cup final against double-chasing Man City

Ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup final between Chelsea and Manchester City, hear what the Sports Mole team have to say about the upcoming clash at Wembley Stadium.

Oliver Thomas, Senior Reporter: ‘Cup double would represent a successful season for Man City’

I’m quietly optimistic. I think City will be the favourites going into this game, bearing in mind City’s recent form – they’ve dropped a couple of points here and there in the Premier League, but considering Chelsea’s form as well, which has been very poor for quite some time now.

City dropped points in that (3-3 draw) against Everton, which could be crucial now in the title race, but they’ve responded in emphatic fashion with two 3-0 wins over Brentford and Crystal Palace, two wins in the space of four days.

I think many raised eyebrows when [Pep] Guardiola decided to name [Erling] Haaland, [Jeremy] Doku and [Rayan] Cherki on the bench against Palace. There was no Nico O’Reilly in the squad as well.

Guardiola admitted shortly before kickoff that he has one eye on this FA Cup final and fortunately for him, the decision to rotate for this must-win game did not backfire against Palace.

They eased to victory against Palace, another dominant performance, over 70% possession, and Phil Foden, for the first time in a long time, delivered a positive performance for City.

He set up the opening two goals. That first assist, a sublime no-look backheel on the edge of the area. A brilliant piece of skill and vision to pick out [Antoine] Semenyo for that first goal.

[Foden] was brilliant on the night. Hopefully he can gain some confidence from that and build on that, with one eye on the World Cup as well, but whether he starts in this final – I’m not sure.

I think Guardiola is expected to revert to what’s been his strongest lineup in recent months. The likes of Haaland, Cherki and Doku are expected to come back in. The only exception really being James Trafford, who will probably start in goal. He’s been the cup goalkeeper for City.

For City, this game is an opportunity to win a domestic cup double and avoid losing a third successive FA Cup final. I think for City, if they were to miss out on the Premier League title but win two cups, that would still represent, for me, a successful season, given that this is a squad in transition.

A lot of players are not multiple title winners like there have been in the past. Some of these players are younger, they’re winning trophies or fighting for trophies this season for the first time, so I think that’s worth factoring in.

For Guardiola, he’s always wanted his team to be challenging for silverware, to be there or thereabouts, and that’s been the case for City on three fronts this season. The only downside has been an early Champions League exit.

I think there are a lot of positives to take from City’s season overall and it’d be great for City if they can be successful in this FA Cup final. They’ve already won at Wembley, of course, beating Arsenal in the EFL Cup final.

They’ve got a good record against Chelsea as well, unbeaten in 13 games since losing the 2021 Champions League final. I think there’s a lot of positives for City heading into this game against Chelsea.

Matt Law, Football Editor: "Foden can produce that magic"

I’ve always been a big fan of Phil Foden, I think he’s a brilliant footballer, a wonderful technician. For England, it’s been a struggle overall, if we’re being honest, in terms of the talent he’s got.

Ten goals and seven assists this season in all competitions (for Man City). I thought he played well the other night (against Crystal Palace). It’ll be very interesting to see whether he starts the final.

For me, I would be taking him to the World Cup. Certainly not starting, but I’m a big fan of [Morgan] Gibbs-White, and [Morgan] Rogers will be going. And there’s Cole Palmer, will he be going?

There’s so much competition in those spaces. England are blessed with brilliant players that can play in that pocket, in the number 10 spot. I would always take Phil Foden, just because I think he can produce that magic.

There's certainly a lot of competition for spaces and if he was to miss out on the squad, I wouldn’t be shocked.

Ben Knapton, Site Coordinator: "No-one should be ruling Chelsea out of this one"

In the Premier League, Chelsea's top five chances are officially over. If they’re going to get any form of Europe, you’d think it would be via winning the FA Cup and then getting into the Europa League.

They did stop the rot at Anfield (1-1 draw with Liverpool). I think they were especially helped by the toxicity from the home fans, especially after the [Rio] Ngumoha sub and all the booing there. I think they fed off that.

I know they’d equalised before then, but the fact that Liverpool were just not what they were at this point last year, that really helped them.

I was intrigued by Chelsea coming into that game with no wingers at all. I was really intrigued to see what Calum McFarlane was going to do. I thought he might stick to an upfront pair, [Liam] Delap and Joao Pedro, with four central players behind, but he didn’t.

He put [Marc] Cucurella in a far more advanced left-wing position. I think Cucurella was given Man of the Match in that game.

If [Pedro Neto and Alejandro Garnacho] are back – Garnacho loves an FA Cup game at Wembley – is [McFarlane] going to change his system? Is he going to stick with what worked quite effectively at Liverpool? That’s a really interesting dilemma for him.

You can’t rule out, [Chelsea beating Man City]. It’s such a cliche [saying that] the form goes out the window in cup finals, but it does.

You look at Chelsea’s awful form before the semi-final, Leeds’ were in brilliant form before the semi-final, but Chelsea came out as deserved 1-0 winners I think.

It’s a really fascinating one. If I had to call it now, I would say Man City, but no-one should be ruling Chelsea out of this one.

Oliver Thomas, Senior Reporter: ‘Will Palmer deliver in FA Cup final?’

You can’t rule out Chelsea completely despite their form. I think Chelsea have been a funny team in the sense that they can turn up when maybe you least expect it.

Chelsea did not perform well against City in recent years, but they still have quality players on their day that can turn up. For Chelsea fans, it’s been really frustrating that not many of those have turned up a lot recently or throughout this season.

City at times can be vulnerable at the back. You look at Joao Pedro, he’s got 20 goals for Chelsea this season. Is he going to pose a threat for them up front?

Cole Palmer, a former Man City player, is he going to turn up? Is he going to deliver in a final like this?

Enzo Fernandez scored in the 1-0 win against Leeds in the semi-final. It’ll be interesting to see if he plays in that advanced role and if Palmer plays out wide, if Chelsea are struggling for wingers in this game.

Chelsea have got players that can cause City problems, but having said that, I would still back City to find a way to win.

I think it will be interesting to see how City line up. I do still expect them to name a strong team with all those key players rested in midweek. I still fancy City to win in some way against Chelsea.