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Chelsea are widely tipped to win their first piece of silverware under Thomas Tuchel when they take on Leicester City in the FA Cup Final at Wembley later today.
BBC Sport pundit Mark Lawrenson is one of the many learned observers of the game who has backed Chelsea to lift their ninth FA Cup trophy. Meanwhile, the Foxes will appear in their fifth final, having been the only team not to win the cup despite featuring more than twice.
While Chelsea fell to a shock defeat at the hands of bitter rivals Arsenal in mid-week, Leicester beat a weakened Manchester United team 2-1 to boost their morale ahead of the all-important clash.
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Lawrenson feels that although Chelsea's chances for a top-four finish were dented after the 1-0 loss to the Gunners, they will field their strongest XI and eventually get over the line. He said:
“Chelsea’s midweek defeat by Arsenal opens the door a little to the teams below them in the race for the top four, especially because they are trying to win the FA Cup this weekend, while their rivals play in the Premier League. The Blues made seven changes for the Gunners game, which felt like too many to me – even with a game like this next. It obviously backfired because of the result they got."
Lawrenson continued:
“Thomas Tuchel will pick his strongest team here though, and I think they will have too much for Leicester – the Foxes got a good win at Old Trafford on Tuesday, but that was against a weakened Manchester United side."
According to Lawrenson, the team that's trailing will have a fan advantage at Wembley. However, Leicester's dip in form means they may not have enough to take down a quality Chelsea outfit. Lawrenson concluded, passing his verdict on a Chelsea victory:
“It will be close but, from what I’ve seen of Brendan Rodgers’ side in the past few weeks, I am not sure they have got enough about them to break down this Chelsea side. Having around 20,000 fans back inside Wembley will help, though, especially for whichever team falls behind and needs to be lifted to come back."
“I am still sticking with Chelsea to win it, though. They will create more chances, and they just have to take them,” he signed off.
Recent record doesn't favour Chelsea against Leicester
This Chelsea team will undoubtedly be feeling the nerves ahead of this game. After all, it's a largely young group of homegrown and foreign players, mentored by a coach who has spent just over 100 days in English football.
Not to mention, the Blues failed to win last year's FA Cup title as well, which could have been Frank Lampard's first-ever trophy as a manager.
Chelsea have won just one of their last six encounters with the Foxes. The reverse fixture between the pair saw Leicester outclass the West Londoners with a 2-0 victory, courtesy of strikes from Wilfred Ndidi and James Maddison.
What could boost them is the fact that of the nine times these two have faced off in the FA Cup, Chelsea have never lost. Tuchel, too, knows exactly how to win cup finals from his time in Germany and France.
Nevertheless, the match-up promises to be an enthralling affair between two street-smart coaches and exciting teams.
