How FA Cup Final impacts City's title push
Cara Banks, Robbie Earle and Tim Howard discuss how Manchester City's FA Cup Final impacts its Premier League title push chasing Arsenal with two matches left.
Video Transcript
We have the FA Cup final tomorrow- Yeah Chelsea at Manchester City at Wembley.
Of course, always a great fixture.
We can watch that to- tomorrow morning.
But how do you think that game will impact- City and their chances to try and close in on this title race?
Well, they'll go as strong as they can.
it's a domestic cup, which would give them a domestic double.
And a bit like Unai Emery, because of Pep's experience, you trust in what he'll do.
I think we'll see Erling Haaland from the start, and it's one of those games where if Man City could get two, three goals possibly in the, in the first half, I could see changes in the second half because the away game at Bournemouth is the one game I think we all feel is laced with a little bit of jeopardy for Man City.
They're gonna win out.
And we saw that on Wednesday, Tim.
It was very interesting to listen to Pep Guardiola ahead of the game that they had at home against Crystal Palace.
He put out arguably a bit of a second team, but we saw people like Phil Foden step up to the plate.
But he did point a hand towards Bournemouth on Tuesday, how hard that away fixture could be.
But do you expect to see his best at Wembley and at Bournemouth?
Yeah, so here's the problem for, for City.
I think he'll have his best team out at, at Wembley.
Finals are tight and they're cagey.
Does it go extra time?
If it goes extra time, that's a lot more miles on the legs, and then a tough trip.
I mean, do- like, I'm guessing they'll go back to Manchester on a flight.
Then they gotta fly back down to Bournemouth a, a day later.
that's a tricky one.
It's a tricky one.
I don't think you can rotate your squad at Bournemouth.
Well- I don't, I don't think you can and he kept picking up on the travel as well, didn't he?
Yeah.
Yeah.
He was speaking a bit on Wednesday about, "We have to travel down to Wembley.
Chelsea don't have to do that."
Correct.
"They're based in London.
They don't play this week."
So there's that dynamic.
As for Arsenal, I mean, they could keep this simple if they just win out, and they've obviously got Burnley there facing next.
What do you make of them just taking this all the way to the top?
Well, I, there, there just seems to be a, a change in mentality at the football club.
If you think of April, where they lost a couple of games and it was doom and gloom, and then from the, the first game in May, they beat Fulham 3-0, and it was like the shackles came off.
And Lewis-Skelly was back in the team.
Calafiori was there.
Saka had his spark back.
a big game against West Ham.
Could've gone either way when, with the big decision, but it went for Arsenal.
You've gotta feel they go to Burnley, win that big, and then face Palace to, to win their, their first title in 22 years.
Can't wait, and hopefully we'll be there watching them.
Is it coming down to the final day?
I think it'll come down to the final day.
Again, as I said, I think, I think Bournemouth is a tricky tie.
Arsenal are gonna hope they drop points, and it doesn't have to ha- happen that way.
But the way that Arsenal are playing, as you mentioned, they are, they are grooving.
They are, they are, they're really hitting the right form at the right time.
I think they win against Burnley, and then on the final day they take care of business, and that's what you want.
This is what Arsenal is hoping for, to come down to the last two weekends of the season and them be in the driver's seat.
I heard Pep talking actually recently and, and he's, he's a control freak off the pitch, and he's a control freak on the pitch, and he wants it back in control.
And he said that, "We won't give up the fight," and that he'll make sure, obviously, the FA Cup's the first priority.
Then it's away at Bournemouth to get three points, and they wanna go to the wire.
We've seen s- stranger things happen on the last day, and, and Crystal Palace can be a difficult team when, when they need to.
I know they got the Conference League final, but City are still hoping and still trying, and they will not give up.
Crystal Palace do have an interesting part to play- having played City on Wednesday.
Yeah.
Then they will be facing Arsenal on the fi-
