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After winning the Club World Cup final last summer and starting the 2025/26 campaign well under Enzo Maresca, things began to unravel when the Italian left the West London club.
Chelsea's poor run of form
Calum McFarlane stepped in for a week before the club appointed Liam Rosenior, and despite a brilliant beginning to his tenure, things also quickly went awry for the 41-year-old, and he was also superseded by McFarlane until the end of the season.
Unfortunately for him and his Blues side, they've not won a single Premier League game since defeating Aston Villa back on March 4th, a run that included a 3-0 loss to Pep Guardiola's side. Their only wins since the start of March have come during their run to the final.
City are something of a bogey team for the Stamford Bridge outfit, too, given that they're unbeaten in their last 13 competitive matches against them.
It's Chelsea's longest run against any opponent since their 17 games without a win against Arsenal between January 1999 and March 2004.
City hold edge over the Blues
Chelsea are looking for their first win against City since May 2021, during which time they've scored just seven goals in competitive fixtures between the two sides and conceded 25.
Both they and their opponents have scored in all of their FA Cup games in 25/26, so goals in the final are virtually guaranteed.
Indeed, not since February 2019 (20 subsequent fixtures in all competitions) has there been a goalless draw between the sides.
The only other times in the Premier League era that neither team has found the net came in their fixtures in November 2012, February 2005 and November 1993.
Fourth successive final for Guardiola and Co.
City will, of course, be playing in their fourth successive FA Cup final, a feat that no other club has ever achieved, and, prior to that recent run, Chelsea had played in three in a row, losing them all.
The Blues have actually failed to score in their last four finals at Wembley, with their last goal coming against Arsenal in 2020.
Though they've lost eight FA Cup finals overall, they have also won eight in their 16 appearances to date.
Incredibly, it's been 10 years since an FA Cup final was played that didn't include either the Blues or the Cityzens, and that came when Man Utd saw off a spirited Crystal Palace thanks to Jesse Lingard's instinctive volley.
Since that final in 2016, the two teams to win the most games in the FA Cup are Saturday's finalists, with Man City notching 45 victories, and Chelsea 37.
Coincidentally, both have also scored the most goals in the competition during that time (159 for City and 111 for Chelsea), and kept the most clean sheets (28 for City and 26 for Chelsea).
Garnacho could make FA Cup history
Should City go on to win the trophy for the first time since defeating United in the 2023 final, they would become the sixth team to win both major English cup competitions in the same season, after Arsenal in 1992/93, Liverpool in 2000/01 and 2021/22, Chelsea in 2006/07 and City themselves in 2018/19.
Given that they've won 21 of their last 23 matches in the FA Cup - with their only defeats coming in the last two finals - Guardiola's side will approach the final with confidence.
Chelsea have only played one Premier League side en route to the final, and they've not beaten two top-flight teams in a single FA cup run since 2020/21, though one of those was Man City in the semi-final.
Should Alejandro Garnacho be selected and he finds the net, he will make history by becoming the first player to score against the same opponent in FA Cup finals playing for two different teams, after he scored Man Utd's first against City in 2024.
Haaland drawing blanks in finals
For City, much will be expected of Erling Haaland, though it may surprise many to note that in nine finals (all competitions), the Norwegian has attempted 15 shots without scoring.
Thank God then, for Jeremy Doku, as no player from any team has been involved in more FA Cup goals than the City wide man across the last two seasons (3G, 5A).
Furthermore, those assists and his 40 dribbles are the most of any Premier League player in that time.
In terms of injuries, the Blues remain without Estevao, Jesse Derry and Jamie Gittens, whilst Garnacho, Pedro Neto and Robert Sanchez all face late fitness tests.
For City, only Rodri is a doubt and is rated at 50/50 as to whether he plays any part.
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