Arsenal v Chelsea: FA Cup final preview, line-ups, predictions & live streaming


The FA Cup final!


Wembley hosts two of London’s biggest clubs on Saturday afternoon in what could be a humdinger of an occasion with potentially far reaching consequences.

Arsenal come into the game with all the pressure. How do they stop runaway Premier League champions Chelsea?

Plus, with a defence that has been significantly weakened.

Can Arsenal cause an upset?

The loss of Laurent Koscielny, Gabriel Paulista and Shkodran Mustafi this week has really hindered Arsenal’s preparations.

Kieran Gibbs looks like he will play after recovering from a thigh strain.

Per Mertesacker will come in for a seriously rare appearance. Yet, the German is the Arsenal club captain, is very experienced and won the World Cup.

Much, as ever, will depend on Alexis Sanchez. There are positives from recent games, after all the Gunners won seven of their last eight.

And, Arsenal have looked much better utilising a three at the back system, which brings us on to the masters of that particular formation…

Huge odds on Arsenal to beat Chelsea!

Chelsea look to clinch the double

Chelsea come into this FA Cup final as the favourites following a fantastic first season under Antonio Conte.

The Italian has been a revelation this season and so much of that is down to his tactical change after the at Arsenal.

Chelsea have not looked back since the 3-0 defeat at the Emirates and during their awesome run in the second half of the season beat Arsenal 3-1 at the Bridge.

Farewells?

As there has been for much of the season, pretty much all the uncertainty in London centres around Arsenal.

Arsene Wenger is out of contract after the FA Cup final. All reports suggest that the Frenchman will sign on for another two years.

Nevertheless, the future plans of Wenger, Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez cast a shadow over this game.

Whether that will help or hinder Arsenal on Saturday at Wembley remains to be seen.

For Chelsea, John Terry is likely to start on the bench and Diego Costa will also be playing his final game for the Blues, if the constant chatter about China is to be believed.

Arsenal team news v Chelsea

The Gunners injury problems are all in defence with Koscielny suspended and Gabriel and Mustafi injured.

Petr Cech is tipped to start in goal, despite David Ospina playing a lot of cup games in recent years.

Arsene Wenger’s key decisions centre around the returning Alex Oxlade Chamberlain, who has arguably been Arsenal’s best player this season.

And, there is also a decision to make between Danny Welbeck and Olivier Giroud for the lone man up front role.

Chelsea team news v Arsenal

Chelsea’s back five picks itself.

Cesc Fabregas could well start next to N’Golo Kante but Nemanja Matic also has a big shout to play in midfield.

Up front, it feels like Pedro has edged out Willian for a starting spot in Chelsea’s biggest games.

Arsenal predicted starting XI v Chelsea




101 Great Goals predicts: Arsenal 1 – Chelsea 2

Surely Chelsea will have too much for Arsenal on the day at Wembley?

Going into this one Chelsea are the clear favourites to clinch just the 12th double in English football.

You have to worry for Per Mertesacker’s ability to stop a fired up Diego Costa…


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