Reeling from a Europe exit earlier than anticipated, Manchester City are left to pick up the pieces domestically as they meet Chelsea in the first of two FA Cup semifinals this weekend at Wembley Stadium.
Pep Guardiola’s side was stunned by Real Madrid on a penalty shootout, battering their La Liga opponents the entire match but failing in front of net on numerous occasions. They needed 76 minutes to generate Kevin De Bruyne’s equaliser, before falling short in extra-time despite one-way traffic the entire way.
Now, they must focus on the two remaining domestic competitions over the final month of the season. There are six matches left in the Premier League title race, where they hold a two-point lead over Arsenal and Liverpool — who were also dumped out of Europe — and they will also look to defend their FA Cup title as well.
Chelsea have little else but this competition to cling to this season, sitting ninth in the Premier League table and dealt a blow in their hunt for European qualification. The European coefficient for English clubs was left in tatters by the aforementioned Champions League failures — it seemed English clubs would be afforded at least one extra place in European competitions next year, allowing Chelsea some breathing room for a potential late-season charge, but now that looks an even more difficult prospect sitting three points behind sixth-placed Newcastle.
USA: Click here to see the latest odds for Man City vs Chelsea and bet FA Cup matches
Man City vs Chelsea prediction, odds
- Moneyline lean: Man City (-175)
- Score prediction: Man City 3-1 Chelsea
Another earlier than anticipated European exit for Pep Guardiola has changed the narrative a bit on Man City, and they are struggling to finish chances, but there shouldn’t be any deterrent from how dominant this English juggernaut truly is over the long-term.
Man City absolutely battered Real Madrid across the 90 minutes of their second leg midweek, and only by some slight from the football gods did they fail to progress in comfortable fashion. Man City generated a whopping 33 shots to Real Madrid’s eight, and there’s no reason to think they can’t do the same to an even more vulnerable Chelsea side prone to collapse.
| BetMGM (USA) |
|
| Man City win (90 mins) |
-175 |
| Draw (90 mins) |
+340 |
| Chelsea win (90 mins) |
+425 |
| Both teams to score |
Y: -165 N: +120 |
| Over / Under 3.5 goals |
O: +120 U: -175 |
| Man City advance |
-350 |
| Chelsea advance |
+240 |
Man City vs Chelsea match facts
- Date: Saturday, April 20, 2024
- Kickoff time: 5:15 p.m. local (12:15 p.m. ET / 9:15 a.m. PT)
- Location: Wembley Stadium (London, England)
- Referee: Michael Oliver, VAR: David Coote
- Last meeting: Man City 1-1 Chelsea (February 2024 | Premier League)
Man City vs Chelsea best bet
- Pick: Both teams to score and over 2.5 goals
- Odds: -115 (BetMGM)
While Manchester City should manage to put forth another impressive display of attacking pressure, Chelsea are likely to get a goal as well. The Blues create significant pressure of their own throughout matches, and while they too have a truly endemic finishing problem, Man City also have been conceding silly goals at the back for some time now.
Pep Guardiola has been in charge of just two clean sheets in 2024 across all competitions, even as they overwhelm opponents on the attacking end. That was evident midweek against Real Madrid when they smothered Los Blancos across the 90 minutes, and while their opponents only generated eight shots, those were worth 1.44 xG, an efficient total for such little volume.
Man City vs Chelsea prop bet
- Pick: Cole Palmer anytime goal scorer
- Odds: +200 (BetMGM)
There’s not a single player on either club in more electric form than Cole Palmer.
The Chelsea star, formerly with Man City, has bagged 10 goals in his last five Premier League games to vault himself up into the Golden Boot race, and he scored against Leicester City in the previous FA Cup game as well a month back. Across all competitions, Palmer has 15 goals since the calendar turned to 2024.
He loves a revenge game too, having scored against City back in November in their wild 4-4 draw at Stamford Bridge. Not even his own teammates can dissuade him from finding the net with their penalty spot hijinks, and with the likes of Nicolas Jackson misfiring in front of net on a regular basis, 2/1 odds on the hottest player in England is exceptional value.
Man City vs Chelsea live stream, TV channel
| TV channel | Streaming | |
| USA | — | ESPN+ |
| Canada | Sportsnet | Sportsnet Now |
| UK | BBC One | BBC iPlayer |
As with every single FA Cup match through the 2023/24 competition, this semifinal will be streamed in the United States exclusively on ESPN+.
In Canada, the broadcast rights to the FA Cup are owned by Sportsnet, who will broadcast this match across their multitude of television and streaming platforms. Domestically in the UK, the rights to this match are owned by the BBC, who will televise the game on BBC One.
