The first cup final of the English football season is upon us, in the form of the Carabao Cup Final which will go down at Wembley Stadium this weekend. It’s the competition that the majority of football fans in the top few divisions moan and groan about, mainly because they consider it to be a little bit pointless. There’s certainly evidence to support that claim, but in the end, it’s a competition which has allowed a variety of teams up and down the country to live out their dreams of heading to Wembley for a cup final in the last few decades.

The game will be contested by Chelsea and Manchester City, and while both may be considered two of the best teams in English football today, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a clear favourite. Both teams have had success in the League Cup in the past, with Manchester City actually being the reigning champions following their win in the final last year against Arsenal. They’ve won it five times which is the same number as the Blues, who last lifted the trophy back in 2015 when they defeated Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 in what was built up to be Mauricio Pochettino’s crowning moment with Spurs.

You could certainly argue that Maurizio Sarri will be battling for his future at Stamford Bridge in this one, after a series of disappointing results over the course of the last few months. The Italian boss has a great squad at his disposal, but after rumours of him losing the team coincided with their recent transfer ban, you have to question whether or not they can turn things around. There’s still a belief within some fans that he’s got what it takes to get the job done, but overcoming a side like City on a stage like this is going to be difficult.

City, on the other hand, have a very realistic chance of winning four trophies this season. They’re one of the favourites in the race for the Premier League, they’re one of eight teams remaining in the FA Cup, they’re still in contention in the Champions League, and all they need to do is beat Chelsea here to pick up their first piece of silverware. They’ve got the squad to do it and it’s all about executing the plan now, because their biggest issue has and always will be complacency in games as important as this.

Chelsea’s last six game stretch has been about as inconsistent as you could imagine, kicking things off with a humiliating 4-0 defeat at the hands of Bournemouth. They followed that up with a 5-0 win over Huddersfield Town, before they came crashing back down to earth against – you guessed it – Manchester City. They were beaten 6-0 in their worst ever Premier League loss, and two victories over Malmo in the Europa League couldn’t ease the pain. They also got knocked out of the FA Cup by Manchester United, who are also considered to be their main rivals in the race for the top four.

City’s latest run also started off pretty badly, as they lost 2-1 against Newcastle United in a fairly shocking result. They got right back on the horse, though, easing to wins against Arsenal and Everton. They followed that up with the 6-0 demolition of Chelsea before getting past a plucky Newport side in the FA Cup. In their latest outing they came from behind late in the game to beat Schalke 3-2 in the Champions League, giving themselves a great chance of progressing into the Champions League quarter finals once again.

History favours Chelsea in this fixture as they have a 67-56 advantage in the overall head to head standings, with 39 draws. Their first meeting came way back in 1907, but of course, a lot of fans will choose to focus on their last encounter: which ended 6-0 to City. The most important question, in the mind of many fans, is what can the Blues do to rectify what went wrong in that game? They haven’t had that much time to try and think about what they can do differently, but then again, tactics and logic are often thrown out of the window in a cup final.

Pedro missed out on Chelsea’s Europa League tie during the week, as well as Kepa who had a hamstring issue. Both men are doubts for this game, as is the case for Zappacosta – although he probably wouldn’t have featured one way or another. The biggest question mark heading into the game, for a lot of fans and pundits, is whether or not Callum Hudson-Odoi will feature. The youngster has been turning heads at Stamford Bridge over the course of the last few months, and this could be the perfect stage for him to showcase what he’s made of.

Vincent Kompany has returned from injury, and will almost certainly captain the side against Chelsea. John Stones is a big doubt for the game which could cause some issues, whereas Leroy Sane is also pushing hard for a place in the starting XI after his heroics in Germany. Fans are questioning whether or not Ederson or Muric will start in goal here, but either way, they’ll have a solid option to go up against the Blues’ attack. David Silva’s inclusion in the starting line-up has also been up for debate in recent days.

Chelsea vs Manchester City Betting Prediction

Chelsea’s best bet isn’t sitting back and frustrating City – because then the floodgates will open, and we’ve all seen what goes down when that happens. It’s going to sound pretty obvious and we understand why it’s going to come across like that, but we’re going to say Manchester City will walk away with the win. They’ve just got more to offer in pretty much every department, and I can’t see a scenario in which the Blues give them all too many problems. Sure, they may hit them on the counter or get lucky from a set piece, but that’s just about it.

Guardiola knows the kind of confidence boost that winning a trophy in February will give his side between now and May, because they’ll get a taste of what’s to come. This isn’t their main priority and it never has been, and all it’ll do is serve as a nice ‘bonus’ on the side of everything else they’ve got ahead of them. The Champions League is going to be tricky for them to win but when you look at who is left in the FA Cup, and how Liverpool have been playing recently in the Premier League, there are plenty of reasons to feel optimistic if you’re a City fan.

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