LONDON – Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola knows there is no time to dwell on his side’s Champions League exit, as the games come thick and fast with a big FA Cup semi-final clash against Chelsea at Wembley on April 20.
City’s dreams of a second successive treble were dashed in midweek when they lost on penalties to Real Madrid after ending the two-legged quarter-final tie 4-4 on aggregate.
Guardiola’s men dominated the match, but it was not to be and they will now turn their attention to the FA Cup and the English Premier League, where they lead Arsenal and Liverpool by two points.
However, it is precisely this relentless schedule that City may find themselves without two of their key players for this huge encounter with the Blues.
Guardiola has major injury concerns in Kevin de Bruyne and Erling Haaland who, along with Manuel Akanji, all asked to be taken off before the shoot-out against Real.
“Kevin seems well. Erling felt something, a muscular issue. Kevin felt exhausted, so tired, after five months out injured (at the start of the season), so that’s normal. We’ll see more tomorrow,” the City boss said on April 19.
On his best players being fatigued at this stage of the season – Rodri had also previously pleaded for a rest – he added: “It’s normal, with the amount of games we’ve played this season and in the previous seasons.
“There’s not much time for recovery, we played extra time and the intensity we play. We are not machines, the fatigue is there. But today we are better than yesterday and tomorrow we will be even better going into the Chelsea game.”
This will be City’s sixth straight FA Cup semi-final, which is a competition record.
Interestingly, they have lost three of their previous five matches at this stage, including a 1-0 setback to Chelsea in 2021.
Last season’s triumph and their success in 2018-19 were the two times that they made it past the last four, and eventually went on to clinch the title.
So, if statistics were anything to go by, Guardiola will know the semi-finals are a significant hurdle to cross for his side.
One positive is that City are unbeaten in eight games against the Blues, so it will take something special for Mauricio Pochettino’s young side to claim a victory against Guardiola’s seasoned winners.
In the Chelsea camp, Pochettino still has a crowded treatment room that includes captain Reece James, Christopher Nkunku, Lesley Ugochukwu, Wesley Fofana, Romeo Lavia and Levi Colwill.
Raheem Sterling, goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, Axel Disasi and Enzo Fernandez will also take late fitness tests following illness or unspecified issues.
While City are hoping to get back to winning ways, the Blues are bolstered by their 6-0 thrashing of Everton on April 15 – their biggest win under Pochettino.
The former Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur boss has yet to win silverware in England and will be desperate to do so after losing the League Cup final to Liverpool in extra time in February.
“I hope we can win and go through to the final,” Pochettino said. “I hope one day we can lift a trophy there (Wembley), that is my dream.”
Asked about the possibility of facing extra time again, he added: “It’s going to be a completely different game (to Liverpool). The most important thing is to adapt to the circumstance.
“In football, you are never going to find a similar action because everything is going to be different.”
Following the FA Cup clash, Chelsea will face a tough run of fixtures.
They will take on Arsenal, Aston Villa, Tottenham and a third London derby in four games when they host West Ham United.
But, with little to play for in the Premier League, there will be no surprises if Pochettino goes all out to defeat City in the match that really matters to the Blues.
It is game on at Wembley, with the winners moving on to face either Coventry or Manchester United – who play on April 21 – for the coveted prize in the world’s oldest football competition.
