Zouma: Cup is key in race to Champions League spot

with United in the semis at Wembley today in what could be viewed as a distraction from the pair’s gripping battle to finish inside the Premier League top four.

At the moment, Frank Lampard’s men are clinging on to third spot, courtesy of a slender one-point advantage over United and Leicester with just two games remaining in the campaign.

But while regaining a place among Europe’s elite is undoubtedly the

No.1 priority for both clubs, Chelsea star Zouma believes victory in the Cup could prove decisive to those Champions League ambitions.

According to the Frenchman, whoever ends up crashing this afternoon is liable to suffer a dent in confidence going into the final seven days of the league campaign.

Central defender Zouma said: “The cup is a different competition but, of course, if you lose a game like that, mentally, it can be bad.

“That’s what we want to do to Man United.

“And we want to win to build our own confidence even more.

“Chelsea is a top club and top clubs have to be playing Champions League – that’s it.

“It’s been our target since the beginning of the season and we’ve been fourth for most of the season. “We want to stay there. “There are two games left – but first of all we think about the FA Cup and Man Utd.

“That’s just as important.”

The form guide suggests overcoming United will be far from simple for Chelsea.

They have been beaten by the Reds three times already this season. And two of those reverses came long before Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men went into overdrive in February and hit their current purple patch.

But at least Chelsea’s midweek

1-0 home win over doomed Norwich was a marked improvement on their desperate 3-0 defeat at Sheffield United last weekend.

Boss Lampard read the riot act to his players after that

Bramall Lane crushing.

And he appeared to get a response, with his Blues side keeping a rare clean sheet.

Zouma, 25 (right) added: “The manager said the

Sheffield game wasn’t good, that we didn’t play good.

“We didn’t start well, they wanted it more than us, put all they had into it and we couldn’t deal with that.

“He wanted a reaction from us – and that’s what we gave him against

Norwich.”