Chelsea will be hoping to secure silverware after a poor Premier League campaign when they face Manchester City at Wembley on Saturday at 3:00pm.
Calum McFarlane will lead Chelsea out at Wembley as interim manager, facing Pep Guardiola for the third time this season.
Chelsea predicted lineup vs Man City
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Sanchez; Gusto, Fofana, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Lavia; Palmer, Fernandez, Neto; Pedro.
The Blues remain without a win in the Premier League in their last seven attempts, despite a better performance in their most recent league game, drawing 1-1 with Liverpool. Their most recent victories have both come in the FA Cup, beating Port Vale and then Leeds.
Chelsea team news vs Man City
McFarlane has delivered a positive bout of team news ahead of the FA Cup final this weekend, with both Levi Colwill and Reece James in contention to feature against Manchester City.
Colwill was excellent in his first full 90 against Liverpool, making a huge difference to how the Blues built out from the back, but also adding that leadership the backline has been missing in recent months.
Chelsea will also be boosted by the return to fitness of Robert Sanchez between the sticks, who missed the Liverpool game due to head injury.
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Both Alejandro Garnacho and Pedro Neto are looking “hopeful” for returns too, having trained well this week according to McFarlane.
Remaining absentees include Estevao, Jesse Derry and Jamie Gittens, which will make the return to fitness from Garnacho and Neto even more key, as against Liverpool last week Chelsea were without all of their natural senior wingers, with Marc Cucurella starting in a hybrid role on the left.
The Colwill effect
Colwill’s importance was clear to many even prior to his injury, further amplified by Enzo Maresca’s cries for a new central defender when the English centre-back went down injured at the start of the campaign.
Without him, Maresca had to continuously adjust his build up patterns accordingly as he was missing a crucial piece of the puzzle, while the Blues also lost their primary leader in the last line, who guided the more aggressive defenders around him.
The return of Colwill against Liverpool made it even more apparent how vital the England centre-back is to their competence, with the Blues now building out under pressure, establishing control in the game with relative ease and defending with more clarity around their own box.
Maresca’s call for a new centre-back has been justified and now Chelsea will be hoping Colwill can play a vital part in their last chance for silverware this season.