Man City vs Chelsea: Mauricio Pochettino set to make extremely rare Chelsea decision for FA Cup semi-final
Man City vs Chelsea: Mauricio Pochettino set to make extremely rare Chelsea decision for FA Cup semi-final
Mauricio Pochettino might be tempted to do something on Saturday evening that he has only done twice this season. Name an unchanged team.
Chelsea go to Wembley Stadium for the second time this season as they face Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-final. The Blues will be hoping to have better fortune this time at the national stadium after losing to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final there at the end of February courtesy of an extra-time header from Reds captain Virgil van Dijk.
Going into that game at Wembley was one of two times Pochettino has named an unchanged side during his short tenure at Stamford Bridge. After drawing with Manchester City the weekend before at the Etihad Stadium, the Blues head coach elected the same team for the final against Liverpool.
The other time was more recently. After a disappointing draw with Burnley in SW6, many were surprised when Pochettino chose an unchanged side to face Manchester United a few days later. But that decision was vindicated with Cole Palmer producing a stunning hat-trick to complete a memorable comeback from a Chelsea perspective.
Pochettino may well be tempted to do the same again this weekend when Chelsea take on Premier League leaders Man City, who are also strong favourites to lift the FA Cup. After thumping Everton 6-0 on Monday night, each and every one of those in a blue and white shirt made a real claim to feature from the start at Wembley this weekend.
Djordje Petrovic is the undisputed No.1 goalkeeper at the club right now after overtaking Robert Sanchez in the pecking order. The Serbian was able to keep a rare clean sheet on Monday – his and Chelsea’s first since the end of January in a run that saw 13 consecutive games of the side conceding at least once.
In front of him, we await to hear from Pochettino on the fitness of Axel Disasi, who missed the game with the Toffees because of injury. Either way, Malo Gusto is a certainty to start on the right-hand side of defence for the Blues, with Marc Cucurella likely to keep his place on the other flank.
Ben Chilwell did get some minutes on Monday but Pochettino will be wary of rushing the vice-captain back after another spell on the sidelines. Thiago Silva looked great against Everton, as did Trevoh Chalobah, who partnered the Brazilian in the centre of the Blues’ back-line.
Like Disasi, we await to hear the latest on Enzo Fernandez but the midfield two of Conor Gallagher and Moises Caicedo did so well earlier in the week that Pochettino may be tempted to keep things the same. In front of the midfield duo, the head coach might look at giving Mykhailo Mudryk another start but could be tempted by Raheem Sterling.
Sterling was brilliant against Man City at the Etihad Stadium back in February and if he has recovered from the illness that kept him out of the win against Everton, then the 29-year-old could be an important option. Even though Mudryk did not have the best game on Monday, it looked like, at times, his and Noni Madueke’s positioning allowed Palmer to have more freedom in dangerous areas.
Nicolas Jackson did well against Everton. The 22-year-old striker played a crucial role in Palmer’s first two goals and then got himself on the score sheet later on in the first-half with a fine finish. It was Jackson’s first goal in four matches and he will be looking to score for the second time this term against Man City.
