Chelsea vs. Man City—FA Cup Final: Preview, Predictions and Lineups

Two Premier League behemoths collide in the 2025–26 FA Cup final on Saturday afternoon, Chelsea and Manchester City locking horns at Wembley Stadium.

Man City became the first team to reach four successive finals with their nervy semifinal victory over Southampton, but they have won just one of the previous three. Manchester United and Crystal Palace have bested Pep Guardiola’s side in the final during the past two seasons, with redemption sought in the capital this weekend.

The Cityzens can secure a domestic double with victory over Chelsea having already scooped the Carabao Cup, and they will be buoyed by the underwhelming form of their opponents, as well as their dismal Wembley record.

By losing the 2023–24 Carabao Cup final, Chelsea became the first English team in history to lose six successive finals. To avoid that unwanted record extending to seven, they will need to up their levels considerably from recent displays. FA Cup wins over Port Vale and Leeds United are their only triumphs during their past 11 games.

City will be favorites for the 145th FA Cup final, but Chelsea have the capacity to spring a surprise.

Chelsea vs. Man City Score Prediction

Man City Clinch Eighth FA Cup Title

Erling Haaland — Man City should be too good for Chelsea. | Marc Atkins/Getty Images

Chelsea will wear the underdog tag for Saturday’s clash—and for good reason. The Blues were dismal during the end of Liam Rosenior’s reign and things have hardly improved under Calum McFarlane, whose talented but underperforming squad has proven alarmingly disjointed over the past few months.

Meanwhile, City are in terrific form. Their slip-up at Everton is the only match they have failed to win since the Carabao Cup final, back-to-back 3–0 victories taking them into the weekend’s game. They also beat Chelsea by the same scoreline as recently as April.

While individuals like João Pedro and Cole Palmer could offer Chelsea a moment of magic, a fairly routine City win appears the most probable option.

City’s clinical edge: A fearsome forward quartet of Erling Haaland, Jérémy Doku, Rayan Cherki and Antoine Semenyo could put Chelsea to the sword. City have scored three times in each of their last three matches and lead the Premier League standings for goals scored.
Chelsea struggles: By contrast, Chelsea’s attacking line is failing to inspire. They have blanked in six of their last 10 matches and have only scored more than once in one match during that period—the seven-goal drubbing of Port Vale. Defensively they have also been suspect, conceding three or more on six separate occasions since the start of March.
Wembley hoodoo: Chelsea have been dreadful in recent finals at Wembley, even if this squad does have experience of winning the Conference League and Club World Cup. Mental fragility could play its part in a young team coming unstuck on the big stage.
Head-to-head record: Chelsea have really struggled against City in recent times. Since beating them in the 2021 Champions League final, the Blues have failed to win any of their last 13 with Guardiola’s side, losing 10 times in that period.

Prediction: Chelsea 0–2 Man City

Chelsea Predicted Lineup vs. Man City

In positive news for Chelsea, Reece James played his first minutes since the March international break against Liverpool last weekend, and McFarlane has confirmed his availability for the final. Levi Colwill will also feature having made his first start of the season at Anfield.

Pedro Neto and Alejandro Garnacho should return from minor muscle injuries against City having participated in training throughout the week, while Robert Sánchez also appears likely to make his comeback from a nasty head injury.

Chelsea will continue without wingers Estêvão, Jamie Gittens and Jesse Derry, however.

Chelsea Predicted Lineup vs. Man City (4-2-3-1): Sánchez; James, Fofana, Colwill, Cucurella; Santos, Caicedo; Palmer, Fernández, Neto; Pedro.

Man City Predicted Lineup vs. Chelsea

City have just the one injury concern ahead of the weekend, with Rodri still missing as of the midweek win over Crystal Palace. The Ballon d’Or winner could miss out once again at Wembley, but has not yet been ruled out of contention.

Abdukodir Khusanov and Joško Gvardiol have recently returned to bolster Guardiola’s defense, the latter making his comeback from a fractured leg sustained in January.

James Trafford will start between the posts as City’s designated cup goalkeeper.

Guardiola made sweeping changes against Palace, but will welcome the likes of Haaland, Doku, Cherki and Nico O’Reilly back into the XI at Wembley.

Man City Predicted Lineup vs. Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Trafford; Nunes, Khusanov, Guéhi, O’Reilly; Silva, González; Semenyo, Cherki, Doku; Haaland.

What Time Does Chelsea vs. Man City Kick Off?

Location: London, England
Stadium: Wembley Stadium
Date: Saturday, May 16
Kickoff Time: 3 p.m. BST / 10 a.m. ET / 7 a.m. PT
Referee: Darren England
VAR: Peter Bankes

How to Watch Chelsea vs. Man City on TV, Live Stream

Country	TV Channel/Live Stream
United States	ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Select, ESPN App, fuboTV
United Kingdom	BBC One, BBC Sport Website, BBC iPlayer, TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports Ultimate, HBO Max
Canada	Sportsnet World, Sportsnet Plus
Mexico	TNT Sports, Max Mexico

MORE: Full list of FA Cup final broadcasters around the world

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