Chelsea vs Manchester City: 5 players to watch out for | FA Cup 2021
The FA Cup is back in action with a compelling semi-final fixture as Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea lock horns with Pep Guardiola's Manchester City at Wembley Stadium. The Blues and Citizens both booked their places in the Champions League semifinals in midweek, but the attention now turns towards the premier domestic cup competition.
Chelsea are aiming to go one step further in the FA Cup after losing to the Gunners in last season's final, while Pep and his army were knocked out at this stage by the same Arsenal last season.
Tuchel confirmed in the pre-match press conference that Mateo Kovacic and Andreas Christensen will miss the semi-final. Timo Werner and Kepa Arrizabalaga could feature in the starting eleven for this game. Sergio Aguero is the only player missing for Manchester City and the City boss is likely to rotate his side, with US goalkeeper Zack Steffen set to replace Ederson.
Chelsea might be going into this game as underdogs, but there is no telling what this cup match has in store for us. Let us take a look at the 5 player to watch out for from this game:
#5 Antonio Rudiger
Antonio Rudiger is enjoying life at Chelsea under new coach Thomas Tuchel. The Blues have had a stellar defensive record under the German and Rudiger has been a massive part of that success. The German defender has been one of Chelsea's best players in the last few months and might even sign a new deal in the near future.
Against an attack as ruthless and amazing as that of Manchester City's, Rudiger will have to bring his A-game to this game.
#4 Raheem Sterling
Raheem Sterling has been a little out of favour in the last few weeks at Manchester City. The Englishman was sent on for the last two minutes of Wednesday night's game, with the match almost done and dusted. Sterling has contributed 9 goals and 6 assists in the league this season but recent form has been an issue.
With games coming thick and fast, there is a high possibility of Sterling starting the semi-final against Chelsea, though. The 26-year old has a point to prove and there is no bigger stage to do so than a cup semi-final at Wembley.