Thomas Tuchel will have his sights on clinching his debut silverware as the Chelsea manager when his players take on Leicester City this Saturday at the Wembley Stadium in the finals of the FA Cup.
The Blues have not been at their very best of late and a lacklustre showing on all fronts last time around against city rivals Arsenal finished in a narrow defeat when playing on their own patch in west London.
Tuchel’s side, however, will be backed to secure the win come the weekend in the capital with the new boss having presided over a major turnaround at the Bridge since his appointment earlier this year.
Chelsea’s progress into the FA Cup finals was ensured courtesy of a 1-0 win over the now Premier League champions Manchester City while Leicester had to overcome the likes of Manchester United in the quarter-finals before disposing of Southampton in an evenly contested last four meeting.
Interestingly, both sides that are set to face each other over the coming weekend are battling it out in league football as well with the Champions League qualification race heating up as the season nears its end in the next fortnight.
The recent defeat to Arsenal has left the Blues in fourth place, just two points adrift of the third-placed Foxes, but with Liverpool’s win over Manchester United on Thursday, and the fact that Chelsea are yet to take on Brendan Rodger’s men next week, means that both these teams are in for a pivotal double matchup in the forthcoming days.
For now, it is the FA Cup that would in Tuchel’s mind with the German understandably keen to mark his first few months at the club with a trophy which would speak volumes of the work he has done with a side that struggled ever so often in the first half of the 2020-21 campaign.
WHEN & WHERE?
Your 2020-21 #EmiratesFACup Final š
šµ Chelsea š Leicester City šµ pic.twitter.com/QfnqF1VLkq
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) April 18, 2021
Date: Saturday 15 May
Time: 4:15 PM GMT
Venue: Wembley Stadium
TEAM NEWS
All eyes will be on Mateo Kovacic who has been an extended absentee for Tuchel’s Chelsea side with the Croatian international midfielder having sustained an injury blow last month.
The Chelsea boss had indicated that Kovacic was in line to prove his fitness heading into the FA Cup final clash and it remains to be seen whether that is the case when the teamsheets are announced prior to the Wembley showdown.
Andres Christensen is another injury blow for the west London giants as the Danish defender was withdrawn off the pitch in the 2-1 win over Manchester City and was missing from the side that took on Arsenal midweek.
N’Golo Kante was confirmed injured for the Arsenal fixture owing to an Achilles problem meaning Tuchel has yet another injury issue within his midfield options to ponder over ahead of the game on Saturday.
KEY BATTLE
Reece James v Kelechi Iheanacho
James will be pivotal towards Chelsea’s play on either end of the pitch with the England international strongly backed to grab the right wing-back role ahead of skipper Cesar Azpilicuetta who is tipped to start at centre-back.
Out on the flank, the young defender will have to work his magic into the box as the likes of Timo Werner and Kai Havertz will hope to get on the end of his pinpoint deliveries.
And on the defensive front, it is the in-form Kelechi Iheanacho who is bound to be a danger man for the Chelsea backline, especially James, with the Nigerian forward enjoying a superb run in front of the goal of late.
MATCH PREDICTION
Leicester City by all means are a very tough opponent to face and with Rodger’s men coming into the FA Cup matchup on the back of a 2-1 win over Manchester United in Premier League action, Tuchel and his Chelsea players will be aware of the stern test they are due at the Wembley on Saturday.
We, however, predict the Blues to clinch the trophy with a narrow 2-1 scoreline running in their favour.
