FA Cup final preview: Chelsea vs Manchester United

Chelsea don’t have problems being champions of England, the only thing they seem to have incompetency in doing right is retaining a trophy, something they last did in the first coming of Jose Mourinho to the London club. Chelsea won the league emphatically last season, blowing everyone away in Antonio Conte’s first season in charge but have lost steam, identity and ideas in the outgoing season with only the FA Cup up there as the only light in a gloomy campaign.

Manchester United aren’t any better, spending so much money to bring in reinforcements everywhere except the goalkeeping department and still failing to sparkle, although their vociferous manager would argue that their total points could have been good enough to clinch the championship on another day but their often boring football and the conservative approach that earned them a shock defeat on their own turf in the hands of Sevilla epitomised the failed season they just had; the FA Cup final offers both sides a glorious ending to a turbulent campaign, but who wants it more?

Both sides in this case, for Mourinho, a known serial winner, whatever method he deems fit to employ, he’s been one of the most successful managers in the history of the game, and for Conte, his job largely depends on the 90minutes (or more) at Wembley.

With no fresh injury news on either side, how will they line up? Conte will definitely be on the offensive, he’ll throw everything he has to this, but like he did at Old Trafford not too long ago, he can score first but will still concede, and not for the first time, this can go into extra time, cancelling each other out, it could go down to penalties.

Picture credit: @manutd

Man for man it’s even, the steel United has in Nemanja Matic, Chelsea has in N’golo Kante, the erratic nature of the United defence when they want to be questionable can also be found with the Chelsea we saw in the just-concluded season.

The fierce transition from defence to attack that United has in Lingard-Pogba-Sanchez is very much available at Chelsea with Willian-Fabregas-Hazard, the fitness of Lukaku isn’t certain for now, so is the choice of who leads the line between the often criticized Alvaro Morata and the winter acquisition, Olivier Giroud.

Interestingly, Giroud and Sanchez both contributed to Arsenal’s success over Chelsea at this stage last season with a goal and assist between them, up against each other now, there can only be one winner, who’s streak continues?


Written by @komptrolla