For Manchester City, the 2026 FA Cup final could be emotional – not least for one of the modern-day greats of Yorkshire football – but for Chelsea, it is very serious business.

Saturday will be Bernardo Silva's final game – at least for Manchester City – at Wembley. There is a good chance it could be for his manager, Pep Guardiola too.

With the League Cup already in the bag, the FA Cup could be part two of a domestic treble, even if a cup double is looking more likely.

For Barnsley-born defender John Stones, it could be his final game for the club full stop. Not that he can afford to treat it like a testimonial.

EMOTIONAL FAREWELL? Manchester City defender John Stones (Image: George Wood/Getty Images)

placeholder image — EMOTIONAL FAREWELL? Manchester City defender John Stones (Image: George Wood/Getty Images)

Like his captain Silva, Stones has announced he is leaving Manchester City at the end of the season, in his case his 10th at the club.

Unlike Silva, his has been a bit-part role this season. The only games he has started in 2026 are in the FA Cup, and his only other appearance was as an 82nd-minute substitute in the already-won Premier League match at home to Crystal Palace – an opportunity to scrape the rust off with an emotional send-off at Wembley in mind, perhaps?

But if the 31-year-old does play, he needs a big performance.

Not to make it onto the field for the final two games of City's Premier League title push – that seems unlikely – but because England manager Thomas Tuchel would love to have him at the World Cup.

UNDER PRESSURE: Chelsea's English interim coach Calum McFarlane (Image: Ben STANSALL / AFP via Getty Images)

As a six-time Premier League winner, as a key figure in City's 2023 treble-winning side as a hybrid defender/midfielder, and an 87-capped international who has played in two European Championship finals, Stones has a lot of experience the German would love to tap into in North America. But with fellow centre-back Harry Maguire offering some of that nous, plus a lot more football this season, he has to show he is worth his place as more than just a charity case.

If selected, Saturday will be a big day for him.

It will be a big one too for Chelsea Football Club Limited.

If City judge themselves in silverware, for west London's foremost player trading company, the bottom line seems to be the most important thing, and those pesky footballers are ruining it.

A dismal Premier League means this FA Cup run, featuring wins over Hull City and Leeds United, is perhaps Chelsea's last realistic chance of European football in 2026-27. After all the money they have spent on players, they can ill-afford to miss it.

It is fashionable to dismiss the FA Cup as no longer important. To managerless Chelsea, it certainly is.