Manchester City head to Wembley Stadium this weekend with their sights firmly set on completing a domestic cup double.
City defeated Arsenal 2-0 to win the League Cup in March, and can add the FA Cup to their trophy cabinet if they beat Chelsea on Saturday.
City are rated as 1/3 shots to lift the trophy, and if you are looking to test the betting markets for the FA Cup final, use the 888sport bonus offer listed at Best Betting Bonuses to explore the first goalscorer and final scoreline markets, given that the overall outcome seems heavily tilted in City’s favour. Indeed, it would be a brave move to back against them achieving the feat, given the strength of their squad.
The road to the final
The seven-time FA Cup winners have produced several impressive performances in the competition this season. Their road to the final is as follows:
- Third round – Exeter City (H) – W10-1
- Fourth round – Salford City (H) – W2-0
- Fifth round – Newcastle United (A) – W3-1
- Quarter-final – Liverpool (H) – W4-0
- Semi-final – Southampton (N) – W2-1
Pep Guardiola’s side were ruthless in the third round, hitting double figures against League One side Exeter City at the Etihad Stadium.
Rico Lewis topped the scoring with a couple of goals, while Antoine Semenyo and Ryan McAidoo both scored on their debuts for the club.
City were functional rather than spectacular in round four, with Salford City proving to be stubborn opposition despite their League Two status.
An Alfie Dorrington own goal and a late strike by Marc Guehi – his first goal for the club – sealed an unconvincing win for Guardiola’s team.
City stepped things up in the fifth round, producing a stunning all-round performance to secure a 3-1 victory over Newcastle United at St James’ Park.
Harvey Barnes put the home side ahead, but goals by Omar Marmoush (2) and Savinho ensured City reached the quarter-final for the ninth time in ten seasons under Guardiola.
Erling Braut Haaland was the star of the show in the last eight, hitting a hat-trick as City made light work of Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium.
Semenyo was also on target to help City claim a memorable 4-0 victory and a place in the semi-final for the eighth consecutive season.
City recovered from a goal down against Southampton at Wembley to win 2-1 and record a fourth successive FA Cup final appearance.
City fancied to lift another trophy
City are the overwhelming favourites to defeat Chelsea on Saturday and it would be a surprise if they failed to get the job done.
The recent Premier League meeting between the two sides at Stamford Bridge highlighted why City are a good bet to win the FA Cup.
Three goals in the space of 17 minutes via Nico O’Reilly, Marc Guehi and Jeremy Doku secured a comfortable 3-0 victory for City.
Their last FA Cup clash with Chelsea came was in the 2023/24 semi-final, where a late winner from Bernardo Silva settled a hard-fought encounter.
City have lost in the FA Cup final for the past two seasons, suffering defeat to Crystal Palace last year and Manchester United in 2024.
However, Guardiola has an impressive overall record in finals. He guided City to victory in 2019 and 2023 and has only lost two other major cup finals during his managerial career.
If City triumph at Wembley on Saturday they will move level with Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur in the all-time FA Cup winners list.
They have not been defeated by Chelsea in any competition in five years. The Blues’ last success over City was in the 2020/21 Champions League final.
Guardiola’s side have won ten of their 13 meetings since then, outscoring Chelsea 25-7 and never failing to get on the scoresheet during that period.
Everything points to City adding to Chelsea’s woes at Wembley this weekend.
Winning the treble may be a bridge too far for City
City’s 3-0 home victory over Palace in midweek moved them two points behind Arsenal at the top of the Premier League with two games remaining.
The Gunners are rated as 1/5 shots to win the title, while City are priced at 7/2. City can still win the treble, but they may ultimately fall short.
Arsenal’s final two games are against Burnley (H) and Palace (A), while City are scheduled to face Bournemouth (A) and Aston Villa (H).
City will be hoping for a favour from elsewhere, but it is hard to imagine either Burnley or Palace upsetting the odds against Arsenal.
Ending the season with two domestic cups would be a decent consolation prize for City, and may be enough to persuade Guardiola to see out the final year of his contract.
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