Manchester City will look to shake off their UEFA Champions League disappointment when they face Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley on Saturday.
Manchester City and Chelsea face off in arguably the most-watched contest of the weekend. City’s hopes of securing a historic back-to-back continental treble were dashed at the hands of Real Madrid in midweek.
After a 3-3 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu in the first leg of the quarter-final, Man City were firm favorites to progress to the semi-finals. However, Real Madrid managed to hold it together at the Etihad and eventually won the thrilling match on penalties.
Pep Guardiola’s men did not suffer a single chance. Their inability to put away some of the game’s best opportunities bit them in the rear.
Man City can still retain their two domestic trophies from last term, the FA Cup and the Premier League title, and will be looking to bounce back strongly in the build-up to Saturday.
Meanwhile, Chelsea seems to be coming together as a unit now more than ever. A stunning four-goal performance from Cole Palmer powered the Blues to a spectacular 6-0 win over Everton at Stamford Bridge last weekend.
Palmer has now equaled Erling Haaland’s 20 Premier League goals this season. The win over the Goodies helped them move up to ninth in the table and Chelsea will spring a surprise at City this Saturday.
Team news
City will unlikely be plagued by injuries at the weekend, but Guardiola will shuffle his pack after Wednesday’s woes with Real Madrid.
John Stones, Mateo Kovacic, Julian Alvarez, and Jeremy Doku all came off the bench midweek and will likely make Saturday’s squad.
Matheus Nunes and Rico Lewis could also earn starts.
Axel Disasi and Enzo Fernandez returned to training after missing Chelsea’s defeat against Everton. Both should return to Mauricio Pochettino’s Wembley XI.
The Blues are still missing Reece James, Romeo Lavia, Wesley Fofana, Christopher Nkunku, Levi Colwill and Lesley Ugochukwu, but Robert Sanchez and Raheem Sterling could return to the matchday squad after shaking off illness.
Man City predicted lineup (3-2-4-1): Ederson; Akanji, Stones, Ake; Lewis, Rodri; Doku, Nunes, Foden, Grealish; Haaland.
Chelsea predicted lineup (4-2-3-1): Petrovic; Disasi, Silva, Chalobah, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Palmer, Gallagher, Sterling; Jackson.
How To Watch Manchester City vs Chelsea TV Channel
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