Chelsea vs Tottenham - as it happened! Antonio Conte's men reach the FA Cup final
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Your support makes all the difference.Chelsea have not lost back-to-back matches for over a year, but a defeat to Spurs could prove to be far more damaging than just crashing of the FA Cup. A win for Tottenham would ramp up the pressure ahead of difficult fixtures against Southampton and Everton in the league next week and could well impact the eventual outcome of the Premier League.
The Blues were thoroughly outplayed by a weakened Manchester United team on the weekend and Antonio Conte will be desperate to turn around his team’s fortunes against their North London rivals.
Tottenham Hotspur’s season in recent weeks has been one of improvement and pure optimism. Spurs have not won a noteworthy prize since the Carling Cup in 2008, but Mauricio Pochettino’s men have their eyes on the realistic chance of winning both the FA Cup and the Premier League this season.
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What time is kick-off?
The match will start at 5.15pm on Saturday.
Where can I watch it?
BBC One. Coverage starts at 4.50pm.
It’s a big match for…
Asmir Begovic: The Chelsea second choice keeper has missed three Wembley FA cup ties in his career (twice at Portsmouth and once at Stoke) and it looks as if he will finally get his chance despite it being mostly due to the injury of Thibaut Courtois. Begovic will be hoping for a dream Wembley FA Cup debut as well as a chance to make up for the Manchester United nightmare.
Remember when…
The Chelsea dressing room celebrated a dramatic 2-1 win over Liverpool at a packed out Wembley stadium in 2012.
Player to watch…
Dele Alli. The 21-year-old has scored 16 Premier League goals for Tottenham this season, and just 12 months after picking up the PFA young player of the year award, Alli is once again the favourite to win the prize this year. Alli has a knack of scoring in big games and with the likely absence of Son Heung-Min it will be down to him and Harry Kane to take up the primary goal scoring roles.
Form…
Chelsea: LWWLWW
Tottenham: WWWWWW
Odds…
Chelsea to win: 17/10
Draw: 11/5
Tottenham to win: 9/5
Antonio Conte makes a bold statement by starting with Diego Costa and Eden Hazard on the sideline. John Terry also starts on the bench, with Nathan Ake replacing him in the starting side.
Batshuayi has replaced Costa.
Has Conte left out two of his key players to preserve their best side for their remaining Premier League games? Surely the Chelsea boss has not lost his nerve against his North-London rivals.
Has Antonio Conte made the right decision by starting Costa and Hazard on the sideline?
With Chelsea loosing two of their last four in the Premier League, it appears that Conte is focusing his targets purely on the league title. The absence of Costa and Hazard will certainly inject the Spurs side with confidence prior to the kick off.
Can Batshuayi prove a fitting replacement for Chelsea's top scorer? There is certainly an abundance of pressure on the 23-year-old now.
The Wembley Stadium is ready to welcome the top two side's in the country to battle it out for a place in the FA Cup final.
Kick off at 17:15.
Stay tuned for minute-by-minute coverage of all of the action as it happens.
Batshuayi has only played 22 minutes since the end of January, so the absence of Costa has provided him with the opportunity to prove himself on this momentous occasion. The 23-year-old has scored five goals so far this season.
Son Heung-min is the joint top-scorer in the FA Cup this season with six goals. The 24-year-old will enter this fixture brimming with confidence, following some top performances recently. He has scored 19 goals so far this season, which is the same as Dele Alli. He will prove problematic for Chelsea if he replicates his recent form at Wembley today.
The two sides are lined up in the tunnel. The pressure of the occasion is proving evident - serious faces all around.
Kick off at 17:15.
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