Chelsea and Manchester City lock horns in the FA Cup Final on Saturday afternoon (3pm kick-off) in the seventh Wembley showdown between the two clubs.
Seven-time winners Man City arrive at Wembley still chasing a domestic treble, while Chelsea head across London hoping to salvage a difficult campaign by lifting the famous trophy for the ninth time.
From historic records to standout player storylines and managerial milestones, there is no shortage of talking points surrounding both clubs ahead of Saturday’s spectacle under the Arch.
Stats you might see
Chelsea stats
Chelsea are aiming to lift the FA Cup for a ninth time, which would move them outright third on the competition’s all-time winners list ahead of Liverpool and Tottenham. Only Arsenal (14) and Manchester United (13) have won the trophy more often.
This will be Chelsea’s 17th FA Cup final appearance, a total bettered only by Manchester United (22) and Arsenal (21). It also marks their sixth final in the last 10 seasons and 10th in the last 20, with the Blues winning five and losing four of their previous nine appearances during that span.
This marks Chelsea’s sixth FA Cup final appearance since the start of the 2016/17 season, though success has been hard to come by for the Blues, who have lifted the trophy just once during that spell while suffering four final defeats – including a record three consecutive losses between 2020 and 2022.
In fact, they have been beaten in each of their last five domestic cup finals at Wembley across the FA Cup (3) and Carabao Cup (2). More worryingly, they have failed to score in each of their last four finals at the national stadium.
Should Chelsea defeat Man City this weekend, it would continue a recent trend of different FA Cup winners, enhancing the tally to seven different winners in successive seasons – Arsenal, Leicester City, Liverpool, Man City, Manchester United, Crystal Palace and potentially Chelsea – something not seen since an eight-year run between 1972 and 1979.
Chelsea’s caretaker formula
If Chelsea win the FA Cup then interim/caretaker managers would account for a third of their nine triumphs in the competition, as incumbent Calum McFarlane would follow in the managerial footsteps of Blues caretakers Guus Hiddink (2009) and Roberto Di Matteo (2012).
In order to achieve this feat, McFarlane must attempt to become the first Chelsea manager to beat Pep Guardiola since Thomas Tuchel in the 2020-21 Champions League final. Since then Tuchel, Graham Potter, Frank Lampard, Mauricio Pochettino, Enzo Maresca, Liam Rosenior, and even McFarlane himself (in his first brief interim spell in January 2026 – a draw) have all failed to beat Guardiola in 13 matches across various competitions.
If successful, McFarlane would be the first English manager to win the FA Cup since Harry Redknapp (Tottenham, 2008); the third English manager to win in the Premier League era after Redknapp and Joe Royle (Everton, 1995); and only the second English manager to win for Chelsea after Dave Sexton in 1970.
Cole Palmer built for the big stages
Cole Palmer has shown he is a player for the biggest occasion, having been directly involved in five goals in his two major cup finals for Chelsea, carding two assists in the Conference League triumph over Real Betis, followed by a brace and an assist in the Club World Cup win over PSG. He also scored for England in their Euro 2024 final defeat to Spain.
Check out the video below for more Palmer stats:
Alejandro Garnacho chasing unique final feat
Alejandro Garnacho has played in all five of Chelsea’s matches en-route to the final, scoring twice. On Saturday he could have the chance to make history as he bids to become the first player to score for two different teams against the same opponent in an FA Cup Final, having previously netted for Man Utd in their 2-1 final triumph over Man City in 2023-24.
Enzo Fernandez targets scoring double
Enzo Fernandez is aiming to become the first Chelsea player to score in the FA Cup semi-final and final in the same season – following his last-four winner against Leeds – since Didier Drogba and Ramires back in 2011-12. The Argentine has an impressive record in the competition, with six goal involvements in nine appearances for the Blues.
Manchester City stats
Manchester City have lifted the FA Cup on seven occasions, most recently in 2022-23. Victory on Saturday would move them onto eight successes alongside Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham, with only Arsenal (14) and Manchester United (13) having lifted the trophy more often.
Victory at Wembley would also strengthen Man City’s standing among England’s domestic cup heavyweights, elevating their haul to 17 major domestic cup trophies – 8 FA Cups and 9 League Cups – pushing them above Arsenal’s total of 16 and leaving only Manchester United (19) and Liverpool (18) ahead.
Pep Guardiola’s side are appearing in a record fourth successive FA Cup final, though there is also unwanted history at stake. Following defeats to Manchester United in 2023/24 and Crystal Palace last season, Man City could become only the second club ever to lose three consecutive FA Cup finals in consecutive seasons, after Chelsea between 2020 and 2022.
Remarkably, this will already be Man City’s 34th visit to Wembley since 2011 – 16 straight seasons – and their third visit in the last eight weeks. Across those appearances, the club have recorded 22 wins and 11 defeats at the national stadium.
Pep Guardiola gunning for more history
Pep Guardiola has won 28 of 38 finals across all competitions for Man City, Bayern Munich, and Barcelona. His record at Man City stands at 13 wins in 19 finals, which consists of five Carabao Cups, three Community Shields, the Champions League, the Uefa Super Cup, Club World Cup, and two FA Cups.
Man City have amassed an FA Cup leading 45 match wins since Pep Guardiola took charge in 2016. The Spaniard is preparing for a fifth FA Cup final, having already won the trophy twice during his reign.
Guardiola can become only the eighth manager to win the FA Cup 3+ times and would be only the second manager in English football history have won both the FA Cup and EFL Cup 3+ times after the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson.
Guardiola can also become the first ever manager to win the domestic double twice, having previously led Man City to Carabao Cup and FA Cup glory back in 2018-19. It would be only the sixth time a domestic double has happened in this country after Arsenal in 1992-93, Liverpool in both 2000-01 and 2021-22, Chelsea in 2006-07, and Man City in 2018-19.
Erling Haaland’s hoodoo
Erling Haaland has scored 161 goals and registered 29 assists in 196 matches for Man City since his arrival in 2022. A simply stunning record. Yet, the Norwegian heads into Saturday’s FA Cup final looking to end his remarkable drought of never scoring or assisting in any of his 15 semi-finals or finals for Man City (in all competitions), nine of which have been finals (eight at Wembley), including March’s Carabao Cup.
Across those 15 matches he’s had 25 shots, 12 shots on target shots, and missed 10 big chances. It remains the only stadium he’s played at more than twice for Man City without scoring.
On a more positive note, Haaland has eight goal involvements in eight games against Chelsea, consisting of five goals and three assists, and has scored 12 goals and an assist in 13 FA Cup appearances, including a hat-trick against Liverpool (quarter-finals) in his last start.
Nico O’Reilly’s double quest
Nico O’Reilly bagged a brace in the Carabao Cup final win over Arsenal and now has the chance to become only the fourth player to score in the League Cup final and FA Cup final in the same season, after Norman Whiteside (Man Utd, 1982-83), Mark Hughes (Man Utd, 1993-94), and most recently Didier Drogba (Chelsea, 2006-07).
Jeremy Doku to deliver?
Jeremy Doku made an impact off the bench in the semi-final against Southampton, scoring the equaliser before providing the assist for the winner, taking his total to five goal involvements in this season’s FA Cup campaign. In fact, no player can better his overall FA Cup contribution of eight goal involvements (three goals and five assists) over the last two seasons.
