Manchester City are approaching one of the biggest weekends of their season as Pep Guardiola’s side prepare to face Chelsea in the FA Cup final at Wembley.
The pressure remains enormous on City. While they continue chasing Arsenal in the Premier League title race, they also have the chance to secure another domestic trophy before the season ends.
Guardiola’s side already lifted the Carabao Cup earlier this year after beating Arsenal 2-0 in the final.
Nico O’Reilly scored twice at Wembley that day, and City are now hoping to complete the domestic cup double this weekend. But injuries have created several problems for Guardiola in recent weeks.
The biggest concern has surrounded Rodri. The Spanish midfielder has missed Manchester City’s last five matches after suffering a groin injury during the 2-1 victory over Arsenal.
His absence forced Guardiola to reshuffle his midfield repeatedly during a crucial stage of the campaign. Now, ahead of the FA Cup final, Guardiola has finally addressed Rodri’s condition.
Speaking before City’s trip to Wembley, Guardiola gave a brief but intriguing update on the midfielder’s availability. Guardiola said when asked about Rodri’s fitness ahead of the Chelsea clash:
“We’ll see.”
Despite the uncertainty around Rodri, Manchester City are otherwise close to full strength heading into the final.
Guardiola rested several important players during the recent 3-0 victory over Crystal Palace in preparation for Wembley.
Erling Haaland did not feature against Palace, with Omar Marmoush leading the attack instead. Meanwhile, Jeremy Doku started on the bench before appearing during the second half.
Matheus Nunes also started the match but later made way for Nathan Ake.
Manchester City know they cannot afford another disappointment in the FA Cup after losing their previous two finals in the competition.
Crystal Palace stunned Guardiola’s side in last season’s final. Meanwhile, Manchester United defeated City in 2024 as Erik ten Hag secured his second trophy at Old Trafford.
Now, Guardiola has the chance to end that poor run at Wembley while keeping City’s hopes of silverware alive on multiple fronts.
However, Arsenal are still two points clear in the Premier League title race. And with only two matches remaining, Manchester City know there is almost no margin for error left this season.
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