Haaland Wembley drought and Guardiola's final call

Pep Guardiola went into the FA Cup final with a clear view of the story around Erling Haaland. "Tomorrow he will score," he said, while Manchester City also had to weigh Rodri's return after three weeks out and the balance of the team around him. Haaland has 161 goals for City, but this is also a striker who has failed to score in 15 major cup semi-finals and finals for the club. At Wembley itself, he has 8 appearances and 601 minutes without a goal.

Why Guardiola backed Haaland so strongly

Guardiola was blunt about the confidence in Haaland, and he did not hide from the size of the sample. The drought has lasted across proper cup occasions, not just one-off bad luck, and it has become part of the pre-final discussion for a reason. That is why his line to goal.com stood out: "Good. I like these kind of questions. Tomorrow it's going to happen. The opposite side don't ask me the question, on this side it's good. Tomorrow he will score."

There is a football logic to that confidence. Haaland's overall output for City is enormous, and Guardiola has seen enough of him to trust the forward in another high-pressure final. The question is not whether the striker can score in big games in general. It is whether Wembley finally stops being the one ground where the goals have not come.

Rodri's return and City's selection choices

Rodri's return made the final team news more interesting than usual. Guardiola said it was "not easy" to decide because the midfielder had been out for three weeks, but he also made the case for him clearly enough: "When he is playing in the middle we are always good." That is a strong endorsement for a player coming back into a final, even if Guardiola also stressed that City would need to see how he coped on the day.

The selection calls did not stop there. Guardiola explained to the Manchester Evening News that the way Chelsea defend meant City needed "certain movements" and that Omar Marmoush had the quality for that role. He also added that the players on the bench could make a difference. Omar Marmoush starting, with Bernardo Silva and John Stones among the options to turn to later, told you this was a final built around structure as much as star names.

City's record against Chelsea backed up the confidence. They went into the final unbeaten in 13 consecutive matches against Chelsea across all competitions since the 2021 Champions League final. Guardiola also made clear that the wider week was not just about Wembley, with Bournemouth on Tuesday and Aston Villa on the final day of the Premier League season still waiting. He even ruled out celebrating early, saying, "Not even one beer." The job was not finished.

If Haaland scores, Guardiola's pre-match certainty will look sharp. If he does not, the debate around Wembley will only grow louder. City still have Bournemouth and Aston Villa to deal with after the final, and Guardiola has already told everyone not to start celebrating yet.