Manchester City and Chelsea go head-to-head for the second time in four days as they clash in the FA Cup this afternoon. The teams also met in the Premier League last Thursday when City edged to a 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge thanks to Riyad Mahrez’s second half tap-in.
Today’s fixture is being played at the Etihad Stadium with both managers expected to make changes to the starting line-ups. Pep Guardiola is expected to start World Cup winner Julian Alvarez while the likes of Cole Palmer and Stefan Ortega should feature. Meanwhile, Graham Potter’s men have a midweek match versus Fulham on the schedule so Chelsea may choose to rest key players as they attempt to regain some form in the Premier League.
The Blues have reached the final of the FA Cup in each of the last three seasons but have, improbably, failed to win any of those games. They lost out to Liverpool in a penalty shootout last season after previous defeats to Leicester in 2021 and Arsenal in 2020. City’s most recent triumph in this competition came in 2019 and they’ll want to go on another decent cup run this time around.
Follow all the action as Manchester City host Chelsea in the FA Cup third round:
