All the attention of English football will be focused on Wembley, when Chelsea and Manchester City clash in the FA Cup final. This is a confrontation carrying many opposite stories before the ball rolls.
This is the 10th consecutive FA Cup final with the participation of one of these two clubs. With Man City, they continue to create a historical milestone when they become the first team to participate in 4 consecutive FA Cup finals.
However, Guardiola's team also entered the match with no small pressure after two consecutive defeats in the most recent finals against Manchester United and Crystal Palace. If they continue to succumb, Man City will become the second team in history to lose 3 consecutive FA Cup finals, after Chelsea in the period 2020-2022.
Conversely, if they win, The Citizens will equal Chelsea's eight FA Cup titles, only behind Arsenal and Man United in the list of most successful players in the league.
Man City has overwhelmed Chelsea for many years
As the two teams enter Wembley Stadium this weekend, it has been 1,813 days since Chelsea last defeated Man City - almost 5 years.
Since the defeat in the 2021 Champions League final against Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea, Man City has not lost to The Blues again in all competitions. Guardiola's team has won 10 and drawn 3 in the last 13 encounters, scoring 25 goals and conceding only 7.
For Chelsea, this is their longest winless streak against an opponent since 1999-2004 against Arsenal.
One of the reasons why Chelsea is constantly at a disadvantage is the instability on the coaching bench. Since Guardiola came to Man City in 2016, Chelsea has used up to 9 different coaches in the matches against the Etihad home team.
Guardiola and the ambition for a domestic cup double
Man City is facing the opportunity to complete a domestic cup double this season after winning the Carabao Cup. If successful, this will be the sixth time in English football history that a team has won both the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup in the same season. Man City also did that in the 2018-2019 season.
Under Guardiola, Man City won 7 of the club's 16 domestic cup titles, including 5 Carabao Cups and 2 FA Cups.
Notably, Man City has won all 11 matches in both domestic cup tournaments this season, scoring 35 goals and conceding only 5 goals. If they beat Chelsea, they will become the first team in English football history to win 100% of matches in both the FA Cup and Carabao Cup in the same season.
Since the 2016-2017 season, Man City has also led in a series of domestic cup statistics. That is the number of wins, the number of goals scored and the number of clean sheets. Chelsea is right behind in most categories.
Chelsea arrives at Wembley with alarming form
Chelsea advanced to the final in a context of serious decline in form. The London team has only won 2 in the last 11 matches, and both of those victories took place in the FA Cup against weaker opponents Port Vale and Leeds United.
Since the beginning of March, no team in the top 5 European national championships has lost more matches than Chelsea in all competitions. In 2026 alone, Chelsea has suffered 12 defeats - almost equal to the total number of defeats for both 2024 and 2022 combined.
The curse of the domestic cup final
Not only is their form poor, Chelsea also carries a big nightmare in the cup finals. The Blues have not scored any goals in the last 4 FA Cup and Carabao Cup finals. This is an unprecedented achievement in English football history.
Since Christian Pulisic's goal in the 2020 FA Cup final against Arsenal, Chelsea have launched up to 60 shots in domestic cup finals but could not score.
More broadly, they only scored one goal in 69 shots in the last 6 domestic cup finals - an extremely poor performance for a big team.
However, Chelsea still shows that they can play well in big matches. The last 2 finals they have won have both come in European competitions, including a 3-0 victory over PSG at the FIFA Club World Cup and a 4-1 crush on Real Betis in the UEFA Conference League final.
Great pressure on Cole Palmer
One of Chelsea's most anticipated factors at Wembley is Cole Palmer. After the explosive 2024-2025 season, the English star is facing more difficulties this season due to injuries and erratic form. Palmer scored 10 goals and had 3 assists after 31 matches.
However, since joining Chelsea from Man City in 2023, Palmer has still contributed to 84 goals in 128 matches in all competitions - a record only behind 4 other players in the Premier League in the same period.
The problem lies in recent form. Palmer has gone through 10 consecutive matches without scoring or assisting for Chelsea. If he continues to be silent at Wembley, it will be the longest streak of matches without participating in goals in his career.
However, there is no stage more suitable than Wembley for Palmer to prove his worth, especially when the opponent is his old team Man City.
