Today in the evening in England, the football season will come to an end. At 7:30 pm Lithuanian time, two London teams - "Arsenal" and "Chelsea" - will meet for the final trophy of the season.
"Arsenal" - "Chelsea" Tournament: FA Cup (final) Stadium: "Wembley" (London) Referee: Anthony Taylor Date and Time: 2017-05-27, 7:30 pm
For some, this is a chance to salvage a very poor season, for others - to put the icing on the cake. Arsene Wenger's protégés did not win any trophies this season, and finished fifth in the Premier League, while their future opponents "Chelsea" became the national champions.
The Road to the Final
Arsenal first had to overcome the barrier of the "Preston North End" team in the first stage. It wasn't easy - only with Olivier Giroud's goal at the end of the match did the "Gunners" secure a 2-1 victory.
In the next stage, the North London team faced "Southampton" - Arsene Wenger's students had no mercy in these matches and defeated their opponents 5-0. In the third stage, "Arsenal" won 2-0 against "Sutton United", and in the quarterfinals, they once again left no hope for "Lincoln City" with a 5-0 result.
In the semifinals, the "Arsenal" team faced a serious opponent - "Manchester City". In this battle, it took more than 90 minutes - after extra time, the "Gunners" defeated the "City" 2-1. The victory was expanded by Alexis Sanchez scoring during extra time.
Meanwhile, the "Chelsea" team began their journey in the FA Cup by beating "Peterborough United" 4-1 in the first stage. In the second stage, "Brentford" fell under the "Blues" (4-0), in the third - "Wolverhampton" (0-2), and in the quarterfinals, "Manchester United" was defeated by a minimal difference.
In the semifinals, the Premier League champions also faced a tough challenge. After a fierce and intense battle, "Chelsea" defeated London's "Tottenham" 4-2 and secured a spot in the tournament final.
Team News
Arsene Wenger has quite a few problems ahead of this match, especially in defense. The team will definitely not be able to rely on the suspended Laurent Koscielny and the injured Gabriel, while Kieran Gibbs and Shkodran Mustafi are questionable. There is a high probability that Per Mertesacker could return to the starting lineup.
Antonio Conte does not have similar problems, and all starting players are ready to take to the pitch. The only pleasant problem for the strategist is how to find a spot for Cesc Fabregas and Willian in the lineup.
Predicted Starting Lineups:
"Arsenal": Petr Cech; Hector Bellerin, Per Mertesacker, Rob Holding, Nacho Monreal; Granit Xhaka, Aaron Ramsey; Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain, Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez; Olivier Giroud.
"Chelsea": Thibaut Courtois; Cezar Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Gary Cahill; Victor Moses, N'Golo Kante, Nemanja Matic, Marcos Alonso; Pedro, Diego Costa, Eden Hazard.
Interesting Facts
Seven out of the last eight head-to-head FA Cup encounters ended in victories for the "Arsenal" club against "Chelsea".
The last time the "Chelsea" team defeated "Arsenal" in the FA Cup was in the 2009 semifinals (2-1), but that was the only "Blues" victory against the "Gunners" in 70 years.
Overall, these teams have clashed in the FA Cup 13 times throughout the tournament's history - "Arsenal" won eight times, while "Chelsea" celebrated with five victories.
"Chelsea" has achieved eight victories in total in the league and cup over the last 13 matches - three draws and two losses.
This will be only the second FA Cup final in the last 35 years where two London teams will battle it out for the trophy. The last time - in 2002 - these teams also fought in the final, and "Arsenal" emerged victorious.
