Manchester City will have to overcome physical and emotional pain in their attempts to reach a second consecutive FA Cup final. Pep Guardiola's side went the full distance against Real Madrid in their eventual Champions League quarter-final penalty shootout loss on Wednesday and will now have just two full days to prepare.

Chelsea, on the other hand, have less travel to worry about with the game at Wembley and also have an additional two days of rest. The Blues were in action on Monday in a 6-0 hammering of Everton.

With the game effectively over as a contest after half an hour, Mauricio Pochettino was also able to rest a handful of his key players. Malo Gusto was taken off in the second half whilst Cole Palmer, Mykhailo Mudryk, and Nicolas Jackson all got a rest. Noni Madueke was replaced after half-time (and a penalty spat with Jackson) too.

Ben Chilwell continued his return from illness and injury with Carney Chukwuemeka also slowly building back up. They then watched their semi-final opponents exert themselves significantly move at the Etihad Stadium 48 hours later.

For Guardiola, the boost was that Kyle Walker made his return to the starting XI against Madrid, his first since March 31. John Stones was also back in the squad - coming from the bench with less than 10 minutes of extra-time to go.

Rodri returned to the starting XI after being rested against Luton Town in the 5-1 mauling last weekend. He had played four games in 10 days prior and complained of fatigue after the first leg. He completed the full 120 minutes at the base of midfield.

Phil Foden was another left out against Luton - though he was named as a sub - but featured on Wednesday. Nathan Ake has been on the bench in the past two games following a knock of his own in recent weeks.

The real problems for Guardiola came just before penalties. Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne and Manuel Akanji were all taken off just moments before full-time in extra time to the surprise of many with the first two being standouts to take a pressure kick. "Erling and Kevin asked me to go out," the head coach explained after the game.

"They could not continue, like Manu [Akanji]. They were playing amazing and I'm not a big fan of so many substitutions but Kevin, Erling and Manu asked me to go out because they could not continue."

It now leaves a big question mark over their fitness heading into the semi-final. Guardiola, like Pochettino, will give an update in his pre-match press conference on Friday.

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