Manchester City will be looking to secure their first silverware of the season, facing Chelsea at Wembley on Saturday at 3:00pm.
Pep Guardiola will be focused on securing silverware before turning his attention to the final games of the Premier League title race.
Man City predicted lineup vs Chelsea
Man City (4-2-3-1): Donnarumma; Nunes, Khusanov, Guehi, O’Reilly; Silva, Rodri; Semenyo, Cherki, Doku; Haaland.
Manchester City rested a number of players in their midweek Premier League win over Crystal Palace, with Nico O’Reilly, Rayan Cherki, Jeremy Doku and Erling Haaland all rested ahead of the FA Cup final this weekend.
Man City team news vs Chelsea
The big news City fans will be waiting to hear is the fitness of Rodri, who returned to partial training last week according to Guardiola, but his fitness will be assessed ahead of the FA Cup final.
Manchester City have no other injuries, including no new injuries from their midweek fixture to contend with.
Josko Gvardiol made his return to action in City’s 3-0 win over Crystal Palace midweek, which will be a boost for Guardiola and his defensive options for the final games of the season.
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With a number of City starters being rested against Palace, the likes of Phil Foden, Savinho, Omar Marmoush and Rayan Ait-Nouri would be expected to return to the bench against Chelsea.
James Trafford has started every FA Cup game to this point, so it would be wise to assume he starts between the sticks instead of Gianluigi Donnarumma for the final.
City’s left-hand side
Manchester City faced off against Chelsea last month in the Premier League, beating them 3-0 at Stamford Bridge.
And it was their left-hand side where they sought advantages in the first half, utilising the rotations between O’Reilly, Silva and Doku to open spaces and generate attacks.
Doku being one of the biggest 1v1 threats in the Premier League is rarely left isolated in those situtions, as teams look to double or even triple up on the Belgian to ensure he cannot easily beat his man.
This has a knock on effect on how other spaces are marked, as Doku’s gravity drags players towards him and opens space inside.
Silva then has an elite footballing IQ and understanding to drag markers away or pin the nearest defenders to clear space for O’Reilly to thrive.
One of Guardiola’s main successes this season has been getting the best from O’Reilly in this attacking left-back role, creating optimal conditions for him on that side with the usage of Silva and Doku, allowing the English talent to deliver gamechanging moments.
In Chelsea’s 3-0 loss, McFarlane used Andrey Santos as a fifth defender off the ball, dropping between the right-back and right centre-back to form a back five and fill the half space so O’Reilly didn’t have the same space to access.
So the big question in this fixture will be how both teams plan around one another, whether Chelsea look to stop City’s left-side threat again or Guardiola plans to counter McFarlane’s solution in their last meet.