MANCHESTER, England (AP) — This season’s FA Cup has already delivered the biggest upset in its 155-year history. Why not one more?
While, on the face of it, victory for Chelsea against Manchester City in Saturday’s final would not go down as one of the more memorable shocks in the history of soccer’s oldest knockout competition, it would certainly upset the odds.
Consider the fortunes of both teams going into the Wembley showpiece.
City is still in contention for a domestic treble of trophies, having already won the English League Cup. It is second in the Premier League, two points behind Arsenal with two rounds to go, and has only lost one domestic match since the end of November.
The form is certainly with Pep Guardiola’s team, even if his current class feels below the standard of his greatest in his time at City.
Chelsea, meanwhile, despite spending more than $1 billion to assemble a squad that won the Club World Cup less than a year ago, is in turmoil.
Two coaches have been fired since the turn of the year. Liam Rosenior lasted less than four months and was shown the door in April after a run of seven losses in eight games in all competitions.
The record has hardly improved since then, with Chelsea still without a league win in seven games and looking likely to miss out on Champions League qualification next season.
It is relying on a novice interim coach to try to end the campaign on a high note and deny Guardiola what would be his 17th major trophy at City and his 35th overall.
Calum McFarlane was promoted from an academy role at Chelsea to fill in as interim after Club World Cup-winning coach Enzo Maresca was fired in January.
Now he’s back in that position after Rosenior’s exit.
McFarlane vs. Guardiola feels like a mismatch of epic proportions. Or is it?
Despite his extremely limited experience as a head coach, McFarlane, who was formerly part of City’s academy, has already produced some standout results.
Not least when taking charge of Chelsea’s 1-1 draw at City in January.
Since being reinstated, he steered the team to victory against Leeds in the FA Cup semifinals and a 1-1 draw at Liverpool last week.
In that sense, he is making a habit of producing performances on the big occasion.
So while a victory against City would not quite compare with sixth-tier Macclesfield eliminating titleholder Crystal Palace in the third round, a novice coach leading crisis-struck Chelsea to triumph at Wembley is an unlikely storyline in its own right.
Key matchups
In the Premier League, Brighton look to strengthen its push for Champions League qualification against Leeds.
Brighton is seventh and can move up to sixth with a win, above Bournemouth which doesn’t play City until Tuesday.
West Ham can climb out of the bottom three with a win at Newcastle. It would leapfrog Tottenham, which plays Chelsea on Tuesday.
Arsenal can move a step closer to the title when it plays relegated Burnley on Monday,
But the biggest match of the weekend in the UK is in Scotland where Celtic hosts Hearts in the final game of the season.
It is a winner-takes-all match with Hearts one point above second-place Celtic. A draw would be enough for Hearts to win its first league title since 1960. Defending champion Celtic must win to retain its trophy.
Players to watch
Marc Guehi was part of the Palace team that was stunned by Macclesfield in January. Now he is one game away from lifting the FA Cup, which he won with Palace by beating City in last year’s final.
Out of action
Chelsea hopes Pedro Neto and Alejandro Garnacho will be available for the FA Cup final after muscle injuries. Rodri and Abdukodir Khusanov are in contention for City.
Arsenal defender Ben White is out for the season with medial ligament damage.
Off the field
Despite seeing Liverpool’s Premier League title defense unravel this season and boos from fans, coach Arne Slot is convinced his job is safe.
“I don’t think I am deciding that alone, but I have every reason to believe I am the Liverpool manager next season,” he said.
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James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
