ENGLISH FA CUP BETTING PREVIEW - CHELSEA VS MANCHESTER CITY

English FA CUP

2026-05-16 - Chelsea vs Manchester City

A Sports Betting Preview by Auls

Chelsea v Manchester City
Football: English FA Cup Final
Saturday 16th May 2026 - Kick Off 3pm
This game is live on TV

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Chelsea

A poor run of results came to an end last weekend when Chelsea forced a draw at Anfield, but there is still room for improvement if they are going to end this tumultuous season with a trophy. Big decisions about the next managerial appointment will be made by the board shortly, but it may be easier to entice someone to come in if Chelsea have European Football and winning the FA Cup may represent the best chance to do that.

Hopes of returning to the Champions League faded in the early part of the spring as Chelsea limped from defeat to defeat, but the FA Cup run has been the one source of positivity. The draw has perhaps favoured them after wins over Charlton Athletic, Hull City, Wrexham and Port Vale took Chelsea through to the Semi Final, but the players showed some character in edging past Leeds United last month.

Chelsea's win over Leeds United is the only one they have earned from the last 6 games in all competitions and they had suffered 6 straight Premier League defeats before the 1-1 draw at Anfield last weekend. The Blues have been struggling at both ends of the pitch in recent weeks, but did earn a clean sheet in the win over Leeds United in the FA Cup Semi Final in the last appearance at Wembley Stadium.

Robert Sanchez, Pedro Neto and Alejandro Garnacho are all hoping to be available for selection.

Manchester City

The Premier League title race is not over, but Arsenal's win at West Ham United last Sunday perhaps led to the calculated gamble in the team selection sent out by Pep Guardiola on Wednesday night. His Manchester City team had to beat Crystal Palace to keep the title race going, and the players coming in were influential in a 3-0 victory that gives the squad momentum to carry into this fixture.

In the first few years as manager of Manchester City, Pep Guardiola's team too a stranglehold of the League Cup and they have won that competition again in 2026 for the first time since 2021. More recently Manchester City have had a lot of success in the FA Cup and they are the first club to ever reach four consecutive Finals, although getting over the line has been more difficult. The last two FA Cup Finals have ended in upset losses to Manchester United and Crystal Palace, which will not be forgotten by this manager.

Manchester City have won 8 of the last 9 games in all competitions, but the 3-3 draw at Everton may be the pivotal moment in the Premier League title race. They came from behind to beat Southampton 2-1 in the FA Cup Semi Final in April and Manchester City have also eliminated Exeter City, Salford City, Newcastle United and Liverpool in the run to another FA Cup Final.

Nico O'Reilly, Rayan Cherki, Jeremy Doku and Erling Haaland were the standout names who were left on the subs bench for the visit of Crystal Palace on Wednesday and all are expected to start. Rodri is hoping to be passed fit, which would give Pep Guardiola a full squad to take to North West London.

Head to Head

A late goal earned Chelsea a 1-1 draw at the Etihad Stadium in January, but they were beaten 0-3 at Stamford Bridge last month.

Manchester City have won 4 of the last 5 meetings between these clubs, including beating Chelsea 1-0 in the FA Cup Semi Final at Wembley Stadium in April 2024.

Prediction

It is no surprise that Manchester City have been set as strong favourites to not only win the FA Cup, but to do so within regulation time.

Winning the Cup Double may not be the kind of prizes that Pep Guardiola will feel makes up for losing out on the Champions League and Premier League, but it is still a big achievement and Manchester City know a transitioning squad can develop quickly when winning silverware.

They were far too good for Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last month, but that was a team managed by Liam Rosenior.

Back in January, Calum McFarlane led Chelsea to the Etihad Stadium and helped the team get away with a 1-1 draw, and it was The Blues who created some of the better chances on the day.

A 1-1 draw at Liverpool last weekend has stopped the negative spiral of Premier League defeats and Chelsea will have had a lot of time to prepare for this fixture. Some key players are back, especially leaders like Reece James, and that should help Chelsea who have upset Manchester City in a big Cup Final in recent years.

Manchester City fans will also note they entered the last two FA Cup Finals as significant favourites, but were beaten by both Manchester United and Crystal Palace. This should just focus the players and it is also important that some of the bigger names were able to get plenty of rest on Wednesday night in Manchester City's 3-0 win over Crystal Palace.

Any Final can bring a different set of pressure and Chelsea will feel they have little to lose, which can make them dangerous.

The fans are voicing their discontent about the direction in which the club is being run, but that will be before kick off and Chelsea should make plenty of noise to try and inspire the team.

However, it feels difficult to shake the fact that Chelsea have been struggling as much as they have at both ends of the field over the last several weeks.

A lot of goals are being conceded, while the attacking players have lost a bit of the spark.

Winning the Cup will provide plenty of motivation, but that may not be enough against a Manchester City team that have seen key players step up in the final third to create moments of magic. The depth of options from the bench makes it that much harder to look past a Manchester City win and the likelihood is that they can find spaces in the latter stages of this Cup Final to score at least twice in a winning effort.

Chelsea will be dangerous, but the squad is lacking a lot of confidence right not and falling behind could see a slump in the shoulders and allow a confident Manchester City to take complete control.

Back to back FA Cup Final defeats will not have been forgotten, but Manchester City can replace those memories with a more positive one on Saturday afternoon at the national Stadium.

The Pick :

Chelsea 0-2 Manchester City

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

I'll back Manchester City to Win & Over 1 Total Goal (Bet Builder) at 1.91 with Bet365 (early payout if a team is leading by two goals)