Chelsea, Leicester City 90-Minute Away From FA Cup Glory

The city of London will be agog as Chelsea and Leicester City battle for this year’s FA Cup glory at the prestigious Wembley Stadium today (Saturday).

The Blues made it to this stage after defeating Manchester City 1-0 in the semi-final thanks to Hakim Ziyech’s second-half winner against the Premier League champions.

On the other hand, the Foxes defeated Southampton 1-0 thanks to Kelechi Iheanacho’s solitary goal. It was their first FA Cup final appearance since 1969.

The meteoric rise of the Foxes over the past 10 years has led to the most unlikely of Premier League title wins, but that is the only piece of silverware that they have to show for their reincarnation so far, and there is a belief that Rodgers could be the man to fill the cabinet again.

There is an extra spice to the fixture, given that the two sides are scheduled to meet again in the Premier League just a few days later, in a match that will be crucial to both sides’ hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League.

Saturday’s FA Cup final represents the 119th meeting between Chelsea and Leicester in all competitions, with the Blues boasting 57 wins compared to 27 for the Foxes.

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Chelsea dumped Leicester out of the FA Cup in last year’s quarter-finals, and they are unbeaten in nine previous meetings against the Foxes in the competition – winning seven and drawing two.

Interestingly, the game will be played at Wembley Stadium in front of a limited crowd of around 21,000 fans as part of the Government’s pilot scheme for the return of crowds to sporting venues.

Probable Lineup

Chelsea: (3-4-2-1): Kepa; Azpilicueta, Silva, Rudiger; James, Jorginho, Kante, Chilwell; Ziyech, Mount; Werner

Leicester City: (3-4-1-2): Schmeichel; Fofana, Evans, Soyuncu; Pereira, Ndidi, Tielemans, Castagne; Maddison; Vardy, Iheanacho

By Augustine Akhilomen