Our prediction for this FA Cup match:
A place in the FA Cup final will be at stake when Manchester City and Chelsea square off against each other at Wembley Stadium. The Citizens set up a meeting with Chelsea by beating Newcastle United 2-0 and Pep Guardiola’s men are seen as hot favourites to win Saturday’s clash as well. The Catalan tactician has a luxury to field the best possible side against the Blues.
Mauro Pochettino’s troops, on the other hand, are brimming with confidence following a splendid 6-0 win over Everton. Chelsea did well to hold Man City to a draw in their last meeting in the Premier League, but seeing that Rodri and Co. have been in a fine form of late, home win should be considered. Man City defenders should have their former teammate Cole Palmer at bay as the 21-year-old scored four goals in the crushing of Everton. Both Raheem Sterling and Enzo Fernandez are major doubts, while there are no fresh injury worries in the away team.
Highlighted Player (Thiago Silva):
Brazilian defender Thiago Silva is one of the highest rated defenders in world football. Having emerged from Fluminense youth ranks, the 31-year-old defender established himself as a world-class performer while plying his trade for AC Milan from 2009 to 2012.
Having largely contributed to Rossonerri’s title winning campaign in 2010-11, Thiago Silva moved to Paris Saint-Germain together with Zlatan Ibrahimovic for a reported fee worth €42 million, which made him then second-most expensive defender in football history after Rio Ferdinand.
Silva was an immediate success at the French club, helping Les Parisiens win four consecutive Ligue 1 titles in the process. Heavily linked with a move away from Parc des Princes, fan favourite Thiago Silva remains a key figure at Paris Saint-Germain and a leader of the new wave under head coach Unai Emery. Having already surpassed the 100-game mark for the French giants, Thiago Silva is slowly writing his name in the history books of Paris Saint-Germain.
Highlighted Team (Man City):
Manchester City are the lest famous of the two major clubs based in Manchester. The club was founded in 1880, but they have been struggling in the English Premier League in the past. Nonetheless, ever since the club was purchased by Abu Dhabi United Group in 2008, the Citizens have been playing an important role in the English top flight.
Manchester City won two Premier League trophies under Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini (2011/2012 and 2013/2014), but both managers eventually paid the price for some disappointing results. Man City play their home games at the Etihad Stadium and the stadium capacity is 55,097.
Manchester United are regarded as Manchester City’s biggest rivals and the likes of Kun Aguero, Carlos Tevez, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Uwe Rosler, Yaya Toure, Sylvain Distin are some of the most remarkable players that played for the Etihad Stadium outfit. Manchester City have won four Premier League titles and five FA Cup trophies and it has to be noted that they made it to the Champions League semis in the 2015/2016 season.