After making the last four of the UEFA Champions League, Chelsea and Manchester City meet in the first semi-final of the FA Cup at Wembley on Saturday. Chelsea and City have met three times at the new Wembley, with the Manchester club winning 2-1 in the 2013 FA Cup semi-final, 2-0 in the 2018 Community Shield, and on penalties in the 2019 EFL Cup final. (More Football News)
City have won six of their previous nine meetings with Chelsea in all competitions, beating the Blues 3-1 at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League already this season. However, Chelsea have enjoyed a resurgence under Thomas Tuchel, who is aiming to become the first German manager to reach the FA Cup final.
Pep Guardiola is unbeaten in all five of his managerial meetings with Tuchel (W3 D2), with all of these coming between 2013 and 2016 when the Spaniard was in charge of Bayern Munich, but the ex-Paris Saint-Germain and Dortmund boss has an admirer in the form of City's coach.
This is a pivotal week for City. But Guardiola has said he "couldn't care less" about the ongoing discussion over City's chances of winning a quadruple this season.
City finally ended their wait for a Champions League semi-final appearance under Guardiola by beating Borussia Dortmund 2-1, ensuring a 4-2 aggregate triumph. After tonight's FA Cup matcj, Premier League leaders will then back at Wembley four days later, to take on Tottenham in the EFL Cup final.
Chelsea are still fighting for a top-four finish in the Premier League, but their immediate focus is on the FA Cup semi-final showdown against City.
Meanwhile, Tuchel would be hoping that his side will benefit from a rare opportunity to bond in Seville after the squad stayed overnight following their Champions League clash with Porto. They lost the second leg of the quarter-final tie following a stoppage-time winner for their Portuguese opponents, though still progressed 2-1 on aggregate.
Rather than fly home immediately after the game in the Spanish city – both fixtures were staged there due to the ongoing travel restrictions in place during the coronavirus pandemic – Tuchel and his Chelsea players had the chance to get together and relax.
Last season, both the sides lost to Arsenals in different stages - Chelsea in the final, and Man City in the semis.
Match and telecast details:
Match: FA Cup semi-final match between Chelsea and Manchester City
Date: April 17 (Saturday), 2021
Time: 10:00 PM IST/ 5:30 PM GMT
Venue: Wembley Stadium, London, England
TV Channels: Sony Pictures Networks
Live Streaming: SonyLIV
Likely XIs:
Chelsea: Kepa; Azpilicueta, Silva, Rudiger; James, Jorginho, Kante, Alonso; Mount, Werner; Havertz.
Manchester City: Steffen; Walker, Dias, Laporte, Cancelo; Rodri, Gundogan, De Bruyne; Mahrez, Jesus, Foden.
In the second semi-final, Leicester City meet Southampton on Sunday at the same venue. The match kicks off at 11:00 PM IST.
(With Omnisport inputs)
