A place in the FA Cup final is on the line as Man City face Chelsea at Wembley this evening. Pep Guardiola’s side won this competition a year ago in a near-perfect campaign, but there will be no double-treble after they were knocked out of the Champions League in midweek by Real Madrid.
City must swiftly put that disappointment behind them as they head to Wembley. Erling Haaland misses out with a muscle injury in a significant blow for the favourites, but Kevin De Bruyne is fit to start despite asking to come off against Real.
Chelsea will take confident from their two matches against City so far this season, which both ended level. Cole Palmer once again goes up against his former club and he is in sensational form, with 11 goals in his last six appearances. The Blues were beaten on their last visit to Wembley, in the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool, but have largely been impressive against the big teams this season. Follow all the action with Standard Sport’s LIVE blog, featuring expert analysis from Nizaar Kinsella at the ground.
Man City vs Chelsea latest news
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Kick-off: 5:15pm BST | Wembley Stadium
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How to watch: BBC One
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Man City team news: Haaland misses out
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Chelsea team news: Silva keeps place
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Standard Sport prediction
No Haaland!
16:23 , Matt Verri
Confirmation that Erling Haaland is not involved this evening – huge blow for Man City.
Kevin De Bruyne and John Stones are fit to start, while Stefan Ortega Moreno once again gets the nod in a cup competiton.
Thiago Silva keeps his place for Chelsea and Enzo Fernandez returns in midfield, with Axel Disasi and Raheem Sterling among those on the bench.
Chelsea team news
16:18 , Matt Verri
Starting XI: Petrovic, Gusto, Chalobah, Silva, Cucurella, Caicedo, Fernandez, Gallagher, Madueke, Palmer, Jackson.
Subs: Bettinelli, Badiashile, Disasi, Gilchrist, Chilwell, Chukwuemeka, Mudryk, Sterling, Washington.
Man City team news
16:16 , Matt Verri
Starting XI: Ortega, Walker, Stones, Akanji, Ake, Rodri, De Bruyne, Silva, Foden, Grealish, Alvarez
Subs: Ederson, Dias, Kovacic, Doku, Gomez, Gvardiol, Nunes, Bobb, Lewis
Stand by!
16:11 , Matt Verri
The team news from Wembley coming up in the next few minutes.
Key decisions to be made by both managers, with injury issues to contend with.
All will be revealed very shortly.
Can Pochettino deny old rival?
16:02 , Matt Verri
There is no manager Mauricio Pochettino has faced more frequently in his career than Pep Guardiola,
Pochettino has always relished their comings together but rarely finished on top; he has won just four matches against the Catalan and lost 13, although his victories include Espanyol’s memorable 2009 scalp over Guardiola’s legendary Barcelona and Tottenham’s win over City in the Champions League five years ago.
Both men are among the city of Barcelona’s favourite sons, albeit from different sides of the aisle, but, although he has never said as much, Pochettino must feel that his rivalry with Guardiola has never been on an even footing.
Now, Pochettino is finally in charge of one of the Premier League’s most successful clubs, with the history and resources to match City, but Chelsea are engaged in a long-term project, which is unlikely to come together in time to challenge Guardiola’s City, with next season expected to be the Catalan’s last in England.
If Pochettino may not get the chance to test himself against Guardiola over the course of a Premier League title race, he can still beat him in one-off matches, and Chelsea will go into the game at Wembley as rank outsiders but with reasons for confidence.
Nizaar Kinsella at Wembley
15:52 , Matt Verri
Mauricio Pochettino says in his programme notes: “Both teams must feel they should have already won against each other this season (having both conceded late equalisers).
Of course, we are guaranteed to get a winner this time.
“There are so many top managers in England right now and Mauricio is definitely one of them,” Pep Guardiola writes.
“Chelsea will become a far better team with him as manager, I have no doubts about that”
Glowing words from two coaches facing each other for the 25th time.
Stage is set!
15:44 , Matt Verri
It’s filling up as kick-off ticks closer.
Just over 90 minutes until this first semi-final begins, and one side books a return to Wembley on May 25.
Reminder that whoever comes out on top here will take on Manchester United or Coventry next month.
Good day for Chelsea already!
15:36 , Matt Verri
An Erin Cuthbert strike gave Chelsea a shock 1-0 win over reigning champions Barcelona in the Women’s Champions League semi-final first leg earlier today at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium.
Barcelona, who had not lost at home since February 2019, dominated early on but it was Chelsea who took the lead in the 40th minute as Sjoeke Nusken laid off the ball for Cuthbert, and the Scottish midfielder fired it into the top corner.
The Women’s Super League champions received a lifeline after Barcelona had a penalty award for handball overturned in the second half after a VAR check showed a player offside in the build-up.
Barcelona had 66% possession but struggled in the final third against Chelsea’s diligent defence, with the Blues taking a narrow lead back to London as they eye a first European title in Emma Hayes’ final season in charge.
Pochettino: Chelsea must be careful with Palmer
15:28 , Matt Verri
Cole Palmer has scored 20 Premier League goals and 25 in all competitions this season.
Mauricio Pochettino has been impressed by Palmer’s ability to shoulder extra responsibility and says the youngster has to get used to being the main star and increased exposure.
He said: “First, it is about consistently absorbing the pressure to play in the Premier League. We were talking as a coaching staff that it is about the (increased) demand in his private life. The demands are so much higher now because he is the top scorer.
“He needs to pay attention to different things than before. That will influence how he prepares, rests, sleeps, and expends the energy that he didn’t before.
“That’s why we need to be careful, I don’t know if the club has, but us [as coach] we have the experience to manage this type of thing when a young kid becomes a big star.
“We know, [people may ask] ‘why is he not performing? Why is he tired?’ It’s because his life has changed. It’s different when a player is used to that experience but he is dealing with experiences that are completely different from the past to him.”
Rodri frustrated after City defeat
15:19 , Matt Verri
Rodri took a swipe at Real Madrid after Manchester City’s dream of a historic double-treble ended in penalty heartbreak.
Man City dominated possession in Wednesday night’s Champions League quarter-final second-leg thriller but Real held on until the end of extra-time and won 4-3 in the shootout on a dramatic night at the Etihad Stadium.
Midfielder Rodri was unhappy with Real’s tactics and said: “Today I only seen one team.
“In terms of defending, they defend and they knew how to suffer. We know how tough Real Madrid are, but in my opinion we should have gone through in terms of the chances and everything.
“But they know this competition and how to play. Congratulations to them.
“It is worse to try to find an explanation. They scored their only chance. Football does not pay attention to merit, it is only about putting the ball in the net.
“We did not expect them to be so, so far deep in their set up. We had the feeling that penalties suited them better.”
Cole: Palmer is a maverick
15:09 , Matt Verri
Joe Cole believes Cole Palmer is a “throwback maverick” who should make the England squad in the summer.
Palmer scored a sensational ‘perfect hat-trick’ with both feet and his head in 29 minutes during the 6-0 win over Everton on Monday night, adding a fourth in the second half from the penalty spot.
The 21-year-old is now level with Erling Haaland on 20 goals in the race to win the Premier League’s Golden Boot.
“He has a throwback maverick mentality,” Cole said of Palmer.
“He scored a hat-trick against Manchester United, but in his post-match interview, it was as if he was walking his dog in the park. It is not forced.
“He just has a coolness and calmness on the football pitch. It is unbelievable. His mentality elevates his performance beyond just his technique.
“He has a lovely left foot when striking the ball well, but his decision-making is spot on. He makes through balls all the time and makes the right pass, but, above all, it is his mentality. I think he is a winner as well from Man City.”
Nizaar Kinsella at Wembley
15:01 , Matt Verri
The early rumours are that Erling Haaland is not fit enough to play against Chelsea.
That’s a huge boost for Mauricio Pochettino’s men if it proves to be true, even if they’ll have plenty of other threats to try and deal with.
Standard Sport prediction
14:53 , Matt Verri
Chelsea will have been pleased to see Man City go all the way to penalties against Real Madrid, but it’s hard to imagine Pep Guardiola’s side going out of two cups in the space of a few days.
They will be desperate to bounce back, and should prove too strong for the Blues.
Man City to win, 2-1.
Chelsea team news
14:43 , Matt Verri
Chelsea are set to be boosted by the returns of Axel Disasi, Enzo Fernandez and Raheem Sterling.
After overcoming small issues, the trio are back in contention. They and seven other players missed the 6-0 win over Everton on Monday night.
Ben Chilwell returned from a two-week absence from the bench, setting up Alfie Gilchrist’s maiden goal for his boyhood club late on.
Reece James, Christopher Nkunku, Lesley Ugochukwu, Wesley Fofana, Robert Sanchez and Romeo Lavia will miss out through injury. Levi Colwill is believed to be close to returning but isn’t quite fit in time.
Djordje Petrovic will be the goalkeeper in front of a possible back four of Malo Gusto, Disasi, Trevoh Chalobah and Marc Cucurella. It would mean Thiago Silva drops to the bench after starting the last two matches.
The attacking front three is set to be the in-form Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson and Noni Madueke, who could get the nod ahead of Sterling and Mykhailo Mudryk, given his recent form.
Predicted Chelsea XI: Petrovic; Gusto, Disasi, Chalobah, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Palmer, Gallagher, Madueke; Jackson
Man City team news
14:36 , Matt Verri
Manchester City are sweating over the fitness of Erling Haaland.
Pep Guardiola confirmed that all of Kevin De Bruyne, Manuel Ajkanji and Haaland asked to come off during the midweek loss to Real Madrid, although remained unclear as to whether that was due to injury or fatigue.
Haaland is a doubt with a muscle issue, although Guardiola said De Bruyne was feeling better.
“Kevin seems well,” he said.
“Erling felt something, a muscular issue. Kevin felt exhausted, so tired, after five months out injured [at the start of the season], so that’s normal. We’ll see more tomorrow.
John Stones was only able to muster ten minutes in extra-time, so will duly need to be assessed before the trip to Wembley.
Kyle Walker is now free of his recent hamstring complaint, while Nathan Ake returned to the bench on Wednesday.
Predicted Man City XI: Ortega; Walker, Dias, Stones, Gvardiol; Rodri, Silva, De Bruyne; Foden, Alvarez, Grealish
How to watch Man City vs Chelsea
14:29 , Matt Verri
TV channel: In the UK, today’s semi-final will be broadcast live and free-to-air on BBC One. Coverage starts at 4:45pm BST ahead of a 5:15pm kick-off.
Live stream: The BBC Sport website and BBC iPlayer (both free with a subscription) will offer a live stream service for fans online.
LIVE coverage: Follow all the action right here with us! Chelsea correspondent Nizaar Kinsella will be providing expert analysis from Wembley.
Good afternoon!
14:23 , Matt Verri
Hello and welcome to Standard Sport’s LIVE coverage of Manchester City vs Chelsea!
It’s the first FA Cup semi-final, with Manchester United taking on Coventry tomorrow.
City’s hopes of a double-treble are over, after defeat to Real Madrid in midweek. Can they bounce back here?
We’ll have all the latest updates, build-up and team news ahead of kick-off, which comes at 5:15pm BST from Wembley Stadium.
