Chelsea and Manchester City clash on Saturday in an FA Cup semi-final that pits the 2018 and 2019 winners against each other at Wembley.
The pair put aside their English Premier League duties for the weekend in a bid to reach the final stop on a journey to lift the famous old trophy under the arch next month.
While City chief Pep Guardiola is going for a second FA Cup title, it represents an opportunity for Blues coach Thomas Tuchel to snaffle his first piece of silverware in English football.
Tuchel’s side ensured safe passage into the semis with a 2-0 breeze against the EPL’s bottom club Sheffield United, as an own goal set them on their way before Hakim Ziyech finished the job with a late second.
They had earlier seen off lower league Championship pair Barnsley and Luton, having strolled past the challenge of fourth tier Morecambe in the third round to reach the last four.
City had it tougher in the last eight, requiring a pair of late goals from Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin de Bruyne to edge out Premier League rivals Everton.
Guardiola’s men rattled in three goals in each of the three previous rounds, winning 3-1 away at Championship Swansea and League Two Cheltenham.
Second tier strugglers Birmingham, meanwhile, were no match for the EPL leaders, sinking to a 3-0 Etihad Stadium defeat in Round Three.
Both sides have done well to come through a busy spell of domestic, European and international football with almost fully fit squads.
Only club legend Sergio Aguero looks to be doubtful for City, with Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus pushing for starts.
Aymeric Laporte could make his return to the starting line up, while Joao Cancelo looks set to slot back in.
Tuchel has lost the services of Mateo Kovacic to a hamstring problem, as Andreas Christensen pushes veteran Thiago Silva for a spot in the heart of defence.
Chelsea vs Manchester City: Prediction
Prediction methodology explained: The expected win percentage is based off publicly available odds. For example, if a team’s odds are 2.30, the expected chance of winning is 43%. If the odds are 1.62 the expected chance of winning is 62% and so on. These are accurate at the time of writing but are subject to change. Where there is no value listed, the odds were not available at the time of writing.
Chelsea vs Manchester City: EPL starting XI prediction
Probable Chelsea Starting XI: Kepa Arrizabalaga, Cesar Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva, Antonio Rudiger, Reece James, Jorginho, N’Golo Kante, Marcos Alonso, Christian Pulisic, Mason Mount, Kai Havertz.
Probable Manchester City Starting XI: Zack Steffen, Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, Aymeric Laporte, Joao Cancelo, Kevin de Bruyne, Rodrigo, Ilkay Gundogan, Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus, Phil Foden.
FA Cup and other results
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