Chelsea take on Manchester City in the FA Cup final on Saturday afternoon and our Blues writers discuss and debate the line-up they would choose at Wembley Stadium
It is make-or-break time for Chelsea. A win in Saturday’s FA Cup final against Manchester City would not make the season a resounding success but at least there would be something memorable – for the right reasons – to come from what has otherwise been a bleak campaign at Stamford Bridge.
Defeat would be very on-brand given their struggles this season. Calum McFarlane has the perfect opportunity, a chance he may never get again, to write himself into Chelsea’s history books forever.
In front of McFarlane and the Blues, though, stand Pep Guardiola and Man City at Wembley Stadium. The serial winners are looking for their second trophy of the season, as they chase an unlikely treble given the gap between themselves and Arsenal in the Premier League table.
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McFarlane has been boosted with the return of three Chelsea players for the short trip to Wembley this weekend. Alejandro Garnacho and Pedro Neto have trained this week and are in contention to return after muscular injuries, while Robert Sanchez is expected to be named in the squad after he sat out of the draw to Liverpool as he followed concussion protocols.
A timely triple boost for McFarlane but will the trio make the line-up at the Home of Football? Bobby Vincent and Jake Stokes discuss and debate the XI they would choose if they were in the Chelsea dugout on Saturday afternoon.
Bobby Vincent
The 3-4-2-1 formation at Liverpool last weekend worked very well. The shape was solid and restricted the Reds. I wonder whether or not McFarlane will look to use a similar approach to try and nullify Man City this weekend.
Sanchez should return in goal, even if Filip Jorgensen performed well at Anfield. If he does go with a back three, or back five depending on how you look at it, then Wesley Fofana should start alongside the outstanding Levi Colwill, with Jorrel Hato making up the defensive line.
Malo Gusto as the right wing-back, with Marc Cucurella on the left-hand side. Reece James should return to the Chelsea side in the centre of midfield alongside Moises Caicedo, with Andrey Santos dropping down to the bench at Wembley.
Cole Palmer as the right-sided No.10 and Enzo Fernandez in the other role. Joao Pedro, of course, to lead the line in an unchanged attack for the Blues. Garnacho and Neto will be good to call upon from the bench if needed.
Bobby’s XI: Sanchez; Fofana, Colwill, Hato; Gusto, James, Caicedo, Cucurella; Palmer, Fernandez; Joao Pedro
Jake Stokes
I don’t expect McFarlane to make too many changes to the starting line-up that faced Liverpool at Anfield. The interim Chelsea boss should stick with the back-five formation.Although it may look conservative on paper, the Blues will build up in a back-three with one of the full-backs pushing further afield anyway, so it’ll only make McFarlane’s side stronger out of possession. Jorgensen did well against the Reds last weekend, but Sanchez should return between the sticks.The backline should remain unchanged despite the return of James, who’s only returned to action earlier this month. As much as I’d love to see him start, the Chelsea captain mustn’t be rushed back. On Saturday, he’ll be a great addition to either the midfield or defence, depending on the game state.Romeo Lavia should come back in for Santos, leaving Fernandez alongside Palmer in the central attacking midfield role, just behind Joao Pedro. Neto could be a game-changer off the bench, so long as he remembers to bring his shooting boots to Wembley!Jake’s XI: Sanchez; Fofana, Colwill, Hato; Gusto, Caicedo, Lavia Cucurella; Palmer, Fernandez; Joao Pedro
