Chelsea go into the FA Cup final against Manchester City without a win in any of their past 13 meetings with Chelsea's old rivals, and their last success in the fixture came in the 2021 Champions League final. That is the bit Chris Sutton keeps coming back to in his BBC preview. It is not just a form note, it is the backdrop to how this final is being read.
Why Sutton keeps circling back to Chelsea's hoodoo
Sutton was blunt about the scale of the challenge. "I was at that game and Pep did not get the better of Thomas Tuchel. He is not going to be schooled by Calum McFarlane though," he said. The point is clear enough. Manchester City have owned the matchup for a long time, and Chelsea's only recent reference point is that night in Porto.
The numbers help explain why the mood around Chelsea is so strained. They have gone four straight meetings without beating City, and their Premier League record sits at 13 wins, 10 draws and 13 losses from 36 matches. They are ninth on 49 points. Songer did not hold back on the club's owners either, saying: "I've been disillusioned with BlueCo from the very start. It has been like watching a circus and it has been infuriating for the fans to be dragged into it."
He also said: "It's been a terrible season. Without the form we were in for the first third of the campaign, we would be giving Spurs a run for their money in the relegation battle." That is plainly overstated against the league table, but the frustration behind it is real. A Wembley win would ease the noise, yet it would not erase how uneven the season has been.
Guardiola talk is already hanging over the final
The City side of the feature is about what comes next as much as what happens at Wembley. Tom Ogden said Guardiola's contract is up next year, and his view was that "it could be his last season" based on how long he has been there. Joe Donovan was more measured, saying, "Everything goes in cycles. You can't focus on him leaving, you have to focus more on the amazing time we've had."
There is still a strong team there. Manchester City are second in the Premier League on 74 points from 35 matches, and they have won four of their last five games. They have also scored 10 goals across their last two league matches. So the talk of transition is not about a collapse, it is about what a long run under Pep Guardiola might look like as the contract clock keeps ticking.
That leaves Wembley with two stories running at once. Chelsea are trying to beat a hoodoo that has lasted 13 meetings. City are trying to keep a trophy-running machine going while fans start wondering how much longer this version can last. The final gives Chelsea a chance to change the mood, but the bigger questions around BlueCo and Guardiola will still be there after the whistle.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 2 outlets. How we work →
