Colwill, James and end of the losing run – why Chelsea can have renewed FA Cup optimism – The Athletic

OK, so everyone agrees Chelsea are heavy underdogs for the FA Cup final, right? A quick look at the statistics demonstrates why that is the case.

Chelsea have not won against Manchester City in five years and have been outscored by them 25-7 over their past 13 fixtures in all competitions. There are no clean sheets in that run.

The club go to Wembley boasting a record six successive defeats in domestic cup finals (three in the Carabao Cup, three in the FA Cup), so there is a psychological barrier to overcome.

Then there is Chelsea’s form. A return of just six points from their past 11 Premier League games, which included a run of six defeats, has led to them sliding down the table.

And yet football always has a knack for providing some hope. Their losing streak in the league ended with a 1-1 draw away to Liverpool on Saturday, possibly leading fans to think, ‘What if?’.

Here are five positives from Anfield to take into the showpiece occasion.

Colwill and his effect on Fofana

Levi Colwill is now in contention to start in the FA Cup final (Peter Powell/AFP via Getty Images)

Interim head coach Calum McFarlane’s response to seeing Levi Colwill’s first start for 10 months said it all. The England centre-back suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury on the first day of pre-season. He made his comeback as a substitute against Nottingham Forest last week before being brought back into the first XI at the weekend.

“He was exceptional,” McFarlane said. “He’s been injured for a long time. The first 90 minutes, Anfield away, when the team aren’t particularly in their best form, to go and put that level of performance in, it doesn’t only show his level of talent and quality, it shows his mentality.”

Pressed on whether he has a chance of starting against City, McFarlane replied: “Definitely.”

That may raise eyebrows, given Colwill does not have much match action behind him and facing Erling Haaland with a trophy at stake should be tougher than coming up against Cody Gakpo, who started up front for Liverpool.

But it is a measure of Colwill’s importance to Chelsea that it is being considered. His absence and the negative impact it had on their season have not been appreciated outside of Stamford Bridge.

Colwill is one of the finest defenders in the country and gets the best out of Wesley Fofana, who has been underwhelming for several weeks. The duo formed a good understanding last season and they carried on from where they left off at Anfield.

Caicedo looking more like himself in midfield

What a welcome sight to see Moises Caicedo dictating play in midfield once again. The Ecuador international is one of Chelsea’s most important players but has not been operating at his usual high standards for several months.

Chelsea are a different side when he is at the top of his game. Against Liverpool, he put in a fine all-round display. Caicedo made the most key passes of Chelsea’s players, 64 passes overall (second), four tackles (second), 80 touches (second), two dribbles (second) and two clearances (third), and he was fouled on three occasions (second).

Chelsea looked much more balanced with Caicedo stepping up at both ends of the pitch. They will need him to go up another level against City, though.

Cucurella is an option as an attacking force

Marc Cucurella offers Chelsea a different option (Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

McFarlane gave no assurances that wingers Pedro Neto and Alejandro Garnacho will recover from muscular injuries to face Pep Guardiola’s side.

With Chelsea’s other three wingers — Estevao, Jamie Gittens and academy graduate Jesse Derry — ruled out, there are concerns over where the threat from wide is coming from.

Well, playing as an advanced left wing-back, Cucurella made runs in behind Liverpool’s back line to show he can help fill the void.

The 27-year-old’s understanding with Caicedo was particularly noticeable in the first half. He ran onto one pass and forced Giorgi Mamardashvili into a fine stop. On another occasion, the Spain international chested the ball down in the area but could not get a shot off before Liverpool’s goalkeeper came out to claim possession.

Another exchange with Caicedo led to Cucurella almost setting up a winning goal, scored by Cole Palmer, only for it to be ruled out because he was narrowly offside.

Cucurella has scored one goal this season compared to the seven in 2024-25. City can be vulnerable at the back, so what better occasion for Cucurella to increase his tally?

James is back

There were fears captain Reece James would struggle to play again this season when he suffered another hamstring injury against Newcastle United in March.

However, the England international recovered more quickly than expected and he gave everyone a huge lift when coming on as a second-half substitute. Chelsea supporters did not take long to chant, “Reece James, he’s one of our own” when he went to warm up at Liverpool, let alone when he got on the pitch.

As Chelsea were increasingly tested in the closing stages, you could hear James shouting instructions and encouragement to his team-mates. This has been sorely lacking from the other Chelsea players.

James is arguably the club’s most gifted all-round footballer. There will be doubts about how long he can play for against City but Chelsea are a far better side with him. Even if he can only provide an impact off the bench, it is better than nothing.

The losing run is over and McFarlane can take heart

It is not much to get excited about but at least Chelsea are not going into the FA Cup final having lost seven league games in a row for only the second time in their history. You have to go back to 1952 for that ‘achievement’.

After deeming the display in the 3-1 loss to Nottingham Forest “unacceptable”, at least McFarlane got a response.

Just as he managed in the FA Cup semi-final victory over Leeds United, McFarlane’s tactics seemed to be embraced by the players and they carried out his instructions well. The post-match scenes on the pitch with the whole group in front of the away support were a rare sign of togetherness. Can they unite to pull off an upset?