Chelsea have held Manchester City to two draw games already this season in the league and have a great chance to reach the final of the FA Cup after Pep Gaurdiola’s side suffered a draining defeat against Rael Madrid.
The Blues are ninth on the league table but want to kill two birds with one stone, as reaching the FA Cup and winning it will give them a first trophy under ClearLake ownership and also guarantee a Europa League spot.
But first, they will have to find a way past the holder without Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Christopher Nkunku and Levi Colwill who are all ruled out of the game.
The news though is that Raheem Sterling who missed the Everton game on Monday night and Axel Disasi who was out due to injury have all returned to training this week and are in contention for a spot in the squad. 23-year-old midfielder Enzo Fernandez is also fit and is likely to start.
Sterling has scored against City in both of the league games this season so there is a real temptation to bring them straight back in but given how well Noni Madueke and Mykhailo Mudryk have been playing it will be interesting to see which two of the three get the call to start.
Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has been eliminated from four of his eight major semi-finals in his managerial career, he also lost the League Cup final against Liverpool earlier in the season.
He’ll be desperate to make up for it tomorrow, so with that in mind, here is the team the Chelsea manager is likely to name.
9. Nicolas Jackson
Turning out to be a really special player for the club. His link-up play is unreal. | Getty Images
10. Noni Madueke
Noni Madueke has been amazing in the last few games. Confidence and skill combined. | Getty Images
11. Enzo Fernandez
Gets straight back into the team | Getty Images