FA CUP FINAL CHELSEA V LEICESTER
SATURDAY, 5.15PM, BBC ONE/BT SPORT
BY JOHN PAYNE
IT’S something of a footballing curiosity that the Premier League’s fourth-placed side should be such strong favourites to beat the team just above them but that reflects more how many big occasions these two clubs have featured in over the past decade.
Leicester may have won the Premier League title against all odds in 2016 but this is their first major final since lifting the League Cup in 2000 – during which time Chelsea have appeared in 19 – and their first FA Cup final since 1969.
It does not seem to matter whether they are having a good or bad season, the Blues are perennial winners and the fact this will be Chelsea’s tenth FA Cup final appearance, six of them already won, neatly sums up their place at English football’s top table.
That is why losing 1-0 at home to Arsenal in midweek, just their third defeat since Thomas Tuchel took charge, will not ruffle too many feathers.
The feeling it was just one of those evenings was summed up rather neatly when Kurt Zouma and Olivier Giroud both hit the bar in the same passage of play as the clock reached 90 minutes.
Tuchel said he regretted making seven changes and will be hoping N’golo Kante is fit to face his former club tomorrow after missing Wednesday’s defeat.
It may well be midfield where the game is won – Chelsea’s Mason Mount, scorer of a crucial goal in the Champions League semi-final win – is often the man for the big occasion, while Leicester will lean on James Maddison who came on as a substitute just before their winner in the 2-1 victory at Manchester United.
Wilfred Ndidi and Youri Tielemans also shone in midweek as the Foxes got a win which all but erased fears they could repeat last season’s late fall out of the Champions League qualification places.
While Leicester are looking to lift the FA Cup for the first time, referee Michael Oliver has been handed the honour of carrying the whistle in a second final.
Fine margins could prove crucial, as well as Oliver’s eagle eyes – he has awarded a penalty every 137 minutes in the Premier League this season.