Manchester City vs Chelsea prediction: ENGLAND: FA Cup betting tips on match 2024-04-19 16:15.
[p]Dreams of an unprecedented second consecutive treble came crashing down for Manchester City in midweek as they were dumped out of the UEFA Champions League on penalties by Real Madrid. While Pep Guardiola insisted he “doesn’t have any regret” over his side’s approach, he’s now tasked with picking his players up as their FA Cup title defence continues in the semi-finals against Chelsea at Wembley, with this being the sixth consecutive season in which the Cityzens have progressed to the last-four of this competition.[/p]
[p]They’re the first team to ever achieve that, but City have been far from flawless at this stage over the course of that streak (W2, L3), with one of those three defeats coming against Chelsea in 2020/21. They can at least take heart from an ongoing eight-match unbeaten run in H2Hs (W6, D2), but with both draws coming this season, they’ll have to work hard to avoid a European hangover to reach back-to-back FA Cup finals for just the third time in their history.[/p]
[p]Chelsea travel across the capital on the back of a 6-0 thumping of Everton that extended their unbeaten run to eight matches across all competitions (W5, D3). That run began after losing the League Cup final on Wembley’s hallowed turf to Liverpool in February, with that defeat perhaps acting as a turning point for manager Mauricio Pochettino and his expensively-assembled squad.[/p]
[p]Banishing the demons of that defeat is next on the agenda for the Blues as they look to reach the FA Cup final, and they’re bound to be quietly confident having won five consecutive semi-finals in this competition. Their last such defeat at this stage came back in 2012/13 ironically against Manchester City, part of an alarming run of losing five of the last seven H2Hs in this competition, including being knocked out by Guardiola’s side last year.[/p]
[p]Players to watch: Midfield orchestrator Rodri has netted in both H2Hs between these sides this season – he’s never scored in three consecutive appearances against a single opponent. Former City player Cole Palmer could come back to haunt his former employers here having directly contributed to goals in seven consecutive club appearances (G11, A4), including a four-goal haul against Everton on Monday.[/p]
[p]Hot stat: Man City have conceded from open play in just one of their last ten FA Cup matches (W10).[/p]