Chelsea v Manchester City FA Cup Fifth Round: Possible Lineups, Stats, Prediction & Odds

Chelsea host Manchester City on Sunday in the pick of the FA Cup fifth round ties, with Guus Hiddink looking to ensure that the Blues remain alive in arguably the only competition they have a realistic chance of winning.

 

Much has been made of the scheduling of this FA Cup fifth round tie, with Manchester City reportedly losing their battle to push it forward to a Friday kick-off. Manuel Pellegrini’s men have several crucial fixtures coming up in the Champions League and Premier League, and the Chilean is expected to play a weakened side at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea certainly have a lot more riding on this game than their opponents, given that they have a realistic chance of redeeming themselves to an extent by winning England’s premier domestic cup competition. As such, Guus Hiddink will field his strongest lineup on Sunday.

Lineups

Chelsea

Possible starting XI (4-3-3): Courtois; Azpilicueta, Cahill, Ivanović (C), Baba Rahman; Matić, Mikel, Fàbregas; Pedro, Willian, Diego Costa

Manchester City

Possible starting XI (4-2-3-1): Caballero; Zabaleta (C), Demichelis, Otamendi, Kolarov; Fernando, Fernandinho; Sterling, García, Celina; Iheanacho

Key Stats

Prediction

Chelsea 2 – 1 Manchester City

Chelsea will be fully focussed on Sunday’s game and determined to keep their FA Cup hopes alive. Manchester City’s weakened team will no doubt want to impress manager Manuel Pellegrini, but the Blues should have enough quality to go through in front of their home fans. A narrow home win is on the cards in this one.

Odds (bet365)

Chelsea win: 1.80

Draw: 3.90

Manchester City win: 4.75

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