Manchester City will not be looking forward to playing Chelsea in the Champions League final.

The two sides have met twice in recent weeks, with the Blues emerging victorious on both occasions.

In the FA Cup semi-final between the pair, a goal from Hakim Ziyech was enough to secure Chelsea's place in the final of the competition.

Then last Saturday, Ziyech struck against City again to equalise on the day, before a late goal from Marcos Alonso saw Chelsea leave the Etihad Stadium with a 2-1 win and three priceless Premier League points.

The Blues really are proving to be a bit of bogey team for Pep Guardiola's side since Thomas Tuchel took over from Frank Lampard as manager back in January of this year.

In the recent league encounter between the pair, the German's second half tactics worked an absolute treat and Reece James was the west London outfit's standout performer.

The marauding right-back was solid in defence and a huge threat going forward, with City left-back Benjamin Mendy unable to contain the Chelsea man.

At one point in the second half, James destroyed the Frenchman by the touchline with a clever flick and new footage has now provided us with Guardiola's rather funny reaction to the incident.

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We get the feeling that Mendy won't be starting against Chelsea in the Champions League final at the end of the month...

The former AS Monaco defender has struggled for game time in 2020/21 even when fully fit and after his latest outing in a City shirt, it's easy to see why.

Oleksandr Zinchenko will almost certainly be the team's first-choice left-back for the remaining big games this season, the Ukrainian starring in the role during City's 2-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain last week.

As for Chelsea, James' top-class performance at the Etihad will certainly put him in contention to start in the Champions League final on May 29th after missing out in the second leg versus Real Madrid.

(Credit: The Football Terrace)