FA Cup: Guardiola lays down City targets for final against Chelsea
By Luke Oluoch, May 15, 2026Manchester City gaffer Pep Guardiola has termed securing victory in the FA Cup final a rewarding gift to the Citizens’ loyal fans.
City will face off against Callum McFarlane’s Chelsea FC side this Saturday, May 16, 2026, with cup glory at stake.
The clash will mark a familiar return to the iconic London venue for the successful Spanish coach as City chase a historic domestic treble against a Chelsea team looking for redemption under new leadership.
Pep’s FA Cup run
Pep has led City to five finals since his arrival in England, marking an unprecedented history in the competition’s folklore.
He led City to winning the title in 2019 in a 6-0 whitewashing of Watford FC, and 2023’s 2-1 win against Manchester United.
Ahead of the Wembley return against Chelsea, his only blips are the 2-1 defeat to Manchester United in the 2024 finals and the upset suffered against Crystal Palace last season.
For the fans
“It is a special place. Semis, finals, win, lose. It’s so good to go to Wembley again. The pitch is extraordinary. Hopefully [it] will be a nice day. We are desperate to perform well,” he stated.
“We have to play against Chelsea to beat them. This is the message for the FA Cup final at Wembley with two teams, our fans. They make an incredible effort to come to London; it’s not cheap. They support us, and [we will] try to perform the best possible to win,” he told the club’s portal.
The gaffer has also confirmed that midfielder Rodri will travel to London with the team but remains a doubt for the clash with a late fitness test to ascertain if he will be part of the squad.
City progress the hard way
City survived a shock by coming from behind to edge past Southampton and reach a record fourth consecutive FA Cup final to keep alive their hopes of claiming a domestic treble on April 25, 2026.
On their part, Chelsea needed an Enzo Fernandez strike to edge a hard-fighting Leeds United to seal the two EPL giants’ matchup.
The clash will get underway at 5:00 pm