Chelsea will be looking to lay their hands on the Emirates FA Cup
for the ninth time in their history when they lock horns with
Leicester City in this season’s final at Wembley this evening, kick-
off 5:15pm.
The Blues, who last won the trophy in 2018, defeating Manchester
United 1-0 in the final, will be looking to get back on track after
Wednesday evening’s shock 1-0 home defeat to Arsenal.
Defeat to the Gunners saw Chelsea denied the opportunity to climb
back above Leicester in the Premier League table, meaning the
Foxes enter today’s showpiece event in third and Chelsea in fourth.
With the defeat to the Gunners now done and dusted and out of the
way, head coach Thomas Tuchel can only focus on what lies ahead
for him and his players. However, the German has admitted that the
midweek reversal against Mikel Arteta’s side was a “missed
opportunity.”
“Yes, it clearly did,” Tuchel said during his pre-match conference
on Friday lunchtime when asked if the defeat to Arsenal was a
wake-up call.
“It is good for the preparation. We all feel that anger at the missed
opportunity and the performance that night against Arsenal.
“We have the challenge to focus on only this match, on us, play on
the edge and we will try to do this.
“In terms of quality, we will have to be at our best. Leicester are a
strong side that deserve to be in the final and two days later we
compete with them for top four.
“This is the highest level and we need a top performance.”
With both Chelsea and Leicester entering the contest in the Premier
League top four, it does seem hard to pick a favourite. Both sides
will fancy their chances of lifting the FA Cup at the end of the
evening and celebrating in front of their own supporters for the first
time in several months.
On what it is like to be involved in a cup final, Tuchel continued:
“You’re so close, both teams are so close. The hunger increases
and increases, the desire once you arrive in a final builds.
“The pressure is not from you guys (the media), the pressure is
put on by yourself.
“You don’t feel so close when you start a cup competition in the
first or second round. You know it’s going to be tough and you
know where you want to go but there isn’t the same tension that
builds up inside you.
“But you are so close, the cup will be there and you know this is the
last match. You don’t ever know when you may arrive again, it can
be a unique opportunity.
“That builds the circumstances that are unique and you can feel
this with the preparation in training today and concentration level.
“It is different to be in a final. It’s the best thing to have in high-
level sport, it brings out the best of you and we want to cope with
it. It’s a big gift and hopefully, we can show our best performance.”
Ahead of kick-off this evening, Tuchel has already revealed some
key team news, confirming that both Kepa Arrizabalaga and N’Golo
Kante will start for the Blues.
Goalkeeper Arrizabalaga, who started the defeat to Arsenal, will
continue in goal, as he has been Chelsea’s shot-stopper right
throughout their FA Cup journey this season. Kante, meanwhile,
will return after missing the clash with Arsenal to hand him the
chance to earn a rest and get some treatment on his right Achilles.
“If you have a goalkeeper for this competition, as we have had with
Kepa, you don’t change in the final,” admitted Tuchel. “He is a part
of the group, he brought us to the final so he deserves to play the
final.”
On Kante, Tuchel added: “We took the decision together, me and
N’Golo [Kante] and the medical team, to leave him out and give him
the Arsenal match to rest and have a treatment to the right
Achilles.
“It was pain management, it is not a huge injury. It is nothing you
need to be afraid of it getting big. It was just there and a bit
annoying.
“Pain management and pain treatment. He did all the training
sessions yesterday, today no complaints. He will start tomorrow
and very likely finish the game for us.”
Meanwhile, Croatian midfielder Mateo Kovacic is back available for
selection after missing the last nine matches with a hamstring
injury.
On the former Real Madrid being set to return, Tuchel said: “It’s big
news for us that Kova is back because he has a big impact on the
dressing room around big matches. He’s a very positive guy so it’s
good news.”
Tuchel has no other injury or suspension issues to contend with.
Full Chelsea squad available to face Leicester:
Goalkeepers: Kepa Arrizabalaga, Willy Caballero & Edouard Mendy.
Defenders: Reece James, Cesar Azpilicueta, Antonio Rudiger,
Andreas Christensen, Thiago Silva, Kurt Zouma, Valentino
Livramento, Ben Chilwell, Marcos Alonso & Emerson.
Midfielders: Callum Hudson-Odoi, Hakim Ziyech, Christian Pulisic,
N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, Billy Gilmour, Mason Mount, Kai
Havertz, Faustino Anjorin & Jorginho.
Strikers: Tammy Abraham, Timo Werner & Olivier Giroud.
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