Chelsea and Manchester City are back at Wembley, back in the FA Cup final - and the numbers do not leave the Londoners much room for hope. City bring a record in which the last 13 consecutive games against Chelsea ended without a defeat. 10 wins, 3 draws. Serious question - when was the last time a club ruled another for so long, on the Balkans and beyond?

Guardiola wants to crush Chelsea again and win the domestic cup double for the second time under his hand - the last time being the 2018/19 season. 21 wins in his last 23 FA Cup games. The two losses came in two finals in a row - to Manchester United and Crystal Palace. Given how things are going, that looks a bit like the only two head colds across an entire winter.

The last meeting laid the gap bare. City smashed Chelsea 3-0 at Stamford Bridge last month. Jérémy Doku tore apart the blue side's back line just as he has torn through the whole season - three goals and five assists in the last two FA Cup campaigns, plus 40 successful dribbles. Numbers the manager probably has written on paper before the showdown.

Chelsea is pinning hopes on two names. Cole Palmer wants to hurt his old club, and Enzo Fernández has been the FA Cup player for them - six goal involvements in nine appearances, plus the goal from the semifinal against Leeds. Reece James and Levi Colwill are also expected to be fit for the final.

On the other side, Guardiola has a near-full squad. Rodri is back after a break. The one tangled story is around Erling Haaland - unbelievably, the Norwegian star has not scored a goal in the last nine finals for City. Wembley has been especially unyielding for him: eight appearances, zero goals. A paradox worth watching once more.

Still, City rarely depend on Haaland alone. Omar Marmoush, Savinho, Bernardo Silva, Nico O'Reilly and Doku take turns carrying the team in the key moments.

Chelsea enjoy the status of a "talented attacking side," but the defence has looked brittle the entire season. Of the five wins on the way to the final, four were against lower-ranked clubs - the only Premier League side they eliminated was Leeds. City did not travel with such an easy draw. And precisely because of that, they are again counted on for the trophy. Guardiola's team is a machine that rarely makes mistakes on the biggest stage. Chelsea - unless they show something we did not see all season - risk another painful evening at Wembley.