Chelsea vs. Tottenham
Venue: Wembley Stadium
Kick off: 5:15PM
Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur will put their Premier League title battle on hold on Saturday (today) as they go head to head in an FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.
Just four points now separate the two sides in the table and Spurs could deal another blow to Chelsea’s campaign by reaching the final for the first time since 1991.
Chelsea have not lost back-to-back matches for more than a year, but defeat to Spurs could have an even more damaging effect than seeing them crash out of the FA Cup and would certainly ramp up the pressure ahead of tricky fixtures against Southampton and Everton in the league next week.
However, when it comes to stages like today, Chelsea have the edge in terms of experience – the Blues have won the FA Cup six times since Spurs last lifted the trophy, most recently doing so in 2012.
Tottenham’s progress under Mauricio Pochettino has been clear to see, but a tangible reward has so far eluded the Argentine since he arrived at the club.
There are plenty of reasons for optimism – a young team bursting with potential have established themselves as the closest challengers for the title in each of the past two seasons in addition to sealing a return to the Champions League.
However, there is nothing quite like a trophy to truly mark progress and, while Tottenham’s hopes in the league look significantly better now than they did at the start of the month, the FA Cup remains their best chance of picking up silverware this season.
It is a trophy that Spurs have not won for 26 years – too long a drought for a club of their calibre. Only Arsenal and Manchester United have won the competition on more occasions than Tottenham’s eight, but the Gunners have lifted the trophy seven times and United have added five more to their tally since Spurs’ last triumph.
Spurs have won their last eight matches across all competitions and have only been on a better run once in their history. Goals have flown freely in that time too, with Tottenham finding the back of the net 28 times during that spell – including back-to-back 4-0 triumphs in their last two outings.
Chelsea represent the first Premier League opposition that Spurs have come up against in this season’s competition, though, having dispatched of Aston Villa, Wycombe Wanderers, Fulham and Millwall in the previous rounds, scoring 15 goals in the process.
Chelsea Possible XI: Begovic, Azpilicueta, Luiz, Cahill, Moses, Kante, Matic, Alonso, Pedro, Costa, Hazard.
Tottenham Possible XI: Lloris, Dier, Vertonghen, Alderweireld, Walker, Wanyama, Dembele, Davies, Eriksen, Kane, Alli.