FA Cup Final: Foxes dare Tuchel's Blues at Wembley

FA Cup Final: Foxes dare Tuchel's Blues at Wembley

 

Kai Havertz and Jonny Evans fight for the ball at the King Power Stadium. (Photo credit: Sky Sports)

The duo of Thomas Tuchel and Brendan Rodgers will be hoping for their respective first titles in English football, and while Rodgers had been trying for a while, first with Swansea, then with Liverpool and now with Leicester, Tuchel has only been around in a matter of few months.

 

Tuchel has had an amazing run as Chelsea manager, losing at home for the first time since taking over to Arsenal in midweek, a result that could actually haunt him should Chelsea drop points in their remaining league games and Liverpool don’t.

Brendan Rodgers is having a season of his life and this is what you call progress; Leicester missed out on champions league football last season on the final day, their win at Old Trafford all but sealed that this season, great way to achieve that considering they lost to Manchester United last season’s final day.

Leicester are in their first FA Cup final since 1969, but their shock league title in 2015 remains their number one inspiration, they have been sensational since and this particular silverware will bear more witness to their prominence in English football.

Chelsea will want to win it to be the third most successful clubs on the FA Cup front, only behind Manchester United (12) and Arsenal (14), for their ninth triumph and seventh in this century.

Chelsea might be in a rampaging form considering their results against City and Real Madrid, but there’s sincerely no clear favorites; Leicester best United to qualify for the final, handing us a first top four FA Cup final since 2007 when Chelsea beat United in the final.

There’s more to the climax of the current season, Leicester sit in third in the league, two points above Chelsea, the two meet again next Tuesday in the league, a draw between them and a win for Liverpool elsewhere means doom for Tuchel’s side.

Coincidentally, Leicester beat Frank Lampard’s Chelsea at the start of the year, which led to the sack of the Blues legend, there has been a massive turn around since then but the end of the season must prove the eventual difference.

17 wins and only 3 defeats in Tuchel’s 26 games in charge is more than impressive, Chelsea were ninth on the log when he took over, he has led them to two major cup finals and they are still very well placed to be in the champions league next season.

Tuchel rested N’golo Kante and Antonio Rudiger for the loss to Arsenal, the duo will start no doubt against Leicester, Rodgers will sweat on the fitness of his experienced defender Johnny Evans and he will rely so much on the form of his senior man, Kelechi Iheanacho.

Leicester have made it to the finals four times but never won any, and with 21,000 fans allowed into Wembley for this final, the two sides will give everything they have to land the oldest Cup competition in English football.

No off day is allowed, Kai Havertz and Timo Werner can’t afford to miss sitters this time, James Maddison cannot be careless, both managers need this to crown their effort, where will it swing?

Verdict: Chelsea to win