FA Cup semi-final
Venue: Wembley
Date: Saturday, 10 April
Kick-off: 1700 BST
Whilst United are wetting themselves at the prospect of overtaking us at the top of the Premier League tomorrow, we still have the small matter of a possible double on for us this season and this evening’s game against Villa will determine just how close to that we’ll get.
If we do get a result today it’ll take us on to our seventh FA Cup final in the past 16 years but whilst our 7-1 win over Villa just a fortnight ago sees us going into the game as firm favourites, even the slightest hint of the form we were in when we went out of the Champions League to Inter and followed it up with a draw in the league to Blackburn, and our dreams of a double could be over by the end of the day.
MANAGERS’ VIEWS
With his side’s 7-1 defeat to us still stinging ahead of today’s semi-final, Villa boss Martin O’Neill suggests “The appetite for this game is even stronger having been to Wembley once this season. It is a great incentive for us. I am delighted to be going back again even though I don’t necessarily agree with semi-finals being played at Wembley. We lost the Carling Cup final and you could see by the second-half performance in the FA Cup quarter-final at Reading that there was a renewed determination to get back there again. Of course, we face Chelsea. That won’t be easy, particularly after what happened a fortnight ago, but the players are ready to go.”
Carlo Ancelotti hasn’t let himself get carried away with the result a fortnight ago though and going into today’s game insists “I’m sure it will be a different game. We will not think about that match. Aston Villa will play a different game, they will have a good direction, so we will play attention. It is a semi-final of an important championship and they will be doing their best to win. Saturday will be different. They have players with experience and strength and I have a good opinion about this team. Martin O’Neill is a good psychologist and a very good coach.”
SQUAD NEWS
Villa don’t seem to be all that troubled by injuries for this game and both James Milner and Richard Dunne are expected to make it back.
For us, the usual suspects of Michael Essien (knee), Ashley Cole (ankle), Ricardo Carvalho (ankle) and Jose Bosingwa (knee) all remain out. Branislav Ivanovic (knee) faces a late fitness test and Hilario (groin) – our first choice in this FA Cup run, continues to struggle so Cech is on stand-by.
TEAMS
VILLA: (from): Friedel, Guzan, Cuellar, Luke Young, Beye, Dunne, Collins, Davies, Warnock, Downing, Milner, Petrov, Sidwell, Delph, Ashley Young, Carew, Agbonlahor, Heskey, Delfouneso, Albrighton, Clark.
CHELSEA: (from): Cech, Hilario, Turnbull, Kalou, Alex, Drogba, Malouda, Terry, Borini, Lampard, Mikel, Deco, Anelka, Zhirkov, J Cole, Belletti, Ballack, Kakuta, Sturridge, Ferreira, Bruma, Ivanovic.
LAST MEETING
Chelsea 7-1 Villa (March 27th 2010)
PREDICTION
We might have dicked them a fortnight ago but they’ve already beaten us once this season so the defeat will only serve to inspire them. It’s the FA Cup ffs, anything can happen!
REFEREE
Howard Webb
Blue is the colour
