How have Chelsea and BlueCo benefited from their Manchester City connections?

FA Cup Final

Pep Guardiola offers Cole Palmer some advice after City's comfortable win at Stamford Bridge last month Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

Manchester City are the perfect FA Cup final opponents for Chelsea this weekend.

Not in the sense of maximising their chances of lifting the trophy, though defeats in the last two FA Cup finals have marked out Pep Guardiola’s side as surprisingly beatable at the denouement of this particular competition. Not even because City also happen to be in the midst of a Premier League title race; those expecting them to betray a lack of focus at Wembley on Saturday are likely to be disappointed.

City are the perfect opponents because they have served as a benchmark of football excellence and a source of inspiration — as well as, at times, a source of personnel — for the version of Chelsea that BlueCo have sought to build on and off the pitch over the last four years.