Can Chelsea spring a massive surprise and win the FA Cup for the ninth time? The Blues go into Saturday's showpiece occasion at Wembley as huge underdogs, given their miserable recent Premier League form, as well as that of opponents Manchester City. Nevertheless, Pep Guardiola's side were overwhelming favourites against Manchester United and Crystal Palace in the previous two seasons, proving that upsets are possible.
Back in January, during his first caretaker spell, Calum McFarlane's team did earn a 1-1 draw at the Etihad courtesy of a last gasp equaliser. If Chelsea are to go one better and end their 13 match winless sequence against Man City, last beating them in the Champions League final in Porto five years ago, here are three players who McFarlane will need to shine.
Marc Cucurella
Fair to say, there has been plenty of flux at Chelsea during the BlueCo era, with players and managers coming and going before one can finish the chorus to Blue is the Colour. However, Marc Cucurella feels like one consistent constant. Since arriving from Brighton, the Spanish international has made 160 appearances, of which 47 have come this season, starting eight of ten Champions League games this season as well as 29 times in the Premier League.
On top of this, Cucurella feels like a rare reliable performer in this side. At 27 years old, the way this Chelsea squad is constructed, he feels like an old head, possessing the sort of expirence many of his teammates lack. So much of Man City's attacking threat comes from their wingers, namely Jérémy Doku and Antoine Semenyo, the latter is who the Spaniard will be direclty up against.
So, in a game where, first and foremost, Chelsea's priority has to be keeping a clean sheet, he will be vital. Due to a lack of wingers, Cucurella was deployed in a more attacking role at Anfield last weekend with Jorrel Hato behind him, which could be the tactic again meaning, despite nominally being a full-back, Cucurella will be key at both ends of the pitch.
Enzo Fernández
Enzo Fernández has been, possibly, Chelsea's best player in an otherwise underwhelming campaign, so does he have another massive moment up his sleeve? Back in January, it was the Argentine who pinched a point with a last-gasp equaliser at the Etihad, while he also headed home the winner against Leeds in the semi-final.
Overall, the midfielder has 14 goals to his name this season, many of which have been crucial. He lashed home a stoppage time winner against West Ham in January, while his free-kick that went in having evaded everybody ended Chelsea's losing streak on Merseyside a week ago.
More than just his goals, Fernández will be key both in and out of possession as Chelsea seek to win the midfield battle. Of course, Manchester City are ultra-strong in that area of the pitch, albeit Guardiola could be without Rodri, which would represent a major loss for them. McFarlane has regularly deployed Fernández in a more advanced role, likely to do so again. Against Liverpool, he had Moisés Caicedo and Andrey Santos behind him; the latter could be swapped out for Roméo Lavia.
Either-way, Férnandez will need to cover a lot of ground, helping when Man City enjoy elongated periods on the ball, as well as being among Chelsea's most dangerous attacking threats. If they do spring a surprise, he is among their most-likely match winners.
Cole Palmer
Speaking of match-winners, 103 years on from the White Horse Final, could this be remembered in centuries to come as the Cole Palmer Final? Of course, the narrative is obvious, given that Palmer was cast aside by Guardiola, only to explode straight after, scoring 22 Premier League goals, having being sold to Chelsea. In one of his final appearance in Sky Blue, he scored in the Community Shield at Wembley, so could he repeat the feat against them this time?
As already outlined, Férnandez will be deployed as the nominal number ten, meaning Palmer will be deployed on the right. This will see him in direct competition with Nico O'Reilly who, while excellent, is not a natural defender, so could leave gaps for Palmer to exploit.
The 24 year old has only ten goals to his name this season, of which only two have come since early-February, most-recently on target at Villa Park on 4 March. He did though score twice during July's FIFA Club World Cup Final win over Paris Saint-Germain, as well as bagging two assists in the Conference League Final against Real Betis in Wrocław.
Thus, Palmer has stood up and been counted to deliver silverware for Chelsea before. Here, with Estêvão injured and Pedro Neto a doubt, the Blues are not awash with top-class attackers, so will look to Palmer to make the difference.
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