MERSON: Costa's the man to silence Spurs
DIEGO COSTA is miles behind Harry Kane in the race for the Golden Boot but he could be the match-winner for Chelsea at Wembley.
He’s not in great form but I think he’ll get more chances in today’s semi-final than Kane – and I think he’ll get more change out of that Tottenham defence.
Spurs are flying and they’re killing teams off but they haven’t played anybody decent in their recent unbeaten run, which has been going since defeat at Liverpool in February. I think they could be in for a fall against Chelsea. Spurs beat the Blues at home in January and gave them the runaround for a while at Stamford Bridge earlier in the season before getting steamrollered.
Doubts
Whatever happens could have a big impact on the title race, though. I said all along that Chelsea are only a couple of injuries away from being in trouble.
Well, they lost Thibaut Courtois and Marcos Alonso and then ended up losing at Manchester United, and now they’re one fluke defeat away from potentially blowing the title.
If they lose to Spurs at Wembley, that would be back-to-back defeats and the doubts might start to creep in. Chelsea play Southampton next and they lost that game last season. Then they have to go to Everton, who are flying.
The Blues were so far clear at the top but it’s not over yet and some nerves might still creep in.
Losing Alonso against United was really big for them. He’s been so good this season he could almost be in the conversation for Player of the Year with the other nominees.
Chelsea and Spurs are the best two teams in the country at the moment by a long way.
But it’s not a foregone conclusion the FA Cup winner will come from this semi.