Pep Guardiola has revealed that Manchester City head into Saturday’s FA Cup final against Chelsea without a single training session since their midweek victory over Crystal Palace.
The City manager admitted the demanding fixture schedule has made preparation difficult ahead of the Wembley showdown. While Chelsea enjoyed a full week to prepare, City have been juggling multiple competitions after already lifting the Carabao Cup and remaining in the Premier League title race.
“It’s not the perfect situation because we haven’t trained at all since the Palace game,” Guardiola explained. “But we know what we have to do and we’ll try our best.”
Guardiola acknowledged that Chelsea hold an advantage in terms of recovery and preparation time, but insisted City’s busy calendar comes as a result of their continued success across competitions.
“Of course I would prefer seven days like Chelsea had,” he said. “But when you reach finals and compete for trophies, you have fewer days to recover. The schedule is the schedule, and we have dealt with it before.”
Despite the difficult build-up, Guardiola stressed that City will treat the occasion with maximum seriousness as they aim to reward supporters making the expensive trip to London.
“This is the FA Cup final at Wembley between two huge clubs,” Guardiola said. “Our fans make a massive effort to travel and support us, so we want to perform at our highest level and try to win the trophy.”
Manchester City will also be motivated by recent disappointment in the competition after suffering back-to-back final defeats to Manchester United in 2024 and Crystal Palace last season. Guardiola is determined to ensure this year’s final ends differently
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