Arsenal vs Chelsea, FA Cup final: Preview, Dream11 and stats
Arsenal and Chelsea are set to fight it out in the FA Cup final tonight at Wembley. The Gunners are vying for a record 14th FA Cup honor, whereas, Chelsea are in search of a ninth trophy in the competition. One expects a close battle with nothing much to separate between the two teams. Here we present the complete match preview.
Chelsea boss Lampard and Arsenal's Lacazette share their views
Frank Lampard has backed Willian to produce another "fantastic" performance in the final game before his deal runs out. "He's been fantastic for us. He's been fantastic this season - he's shown the right attitude," said Lampard. Meanwhile, Arsenal forward Alexandre Lacazette said, "It was a difficult season, maybe the most difficult in my career, but I know I learned a lot."
Arsenal vs Chelsea: Team news and selection
Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin has been back in training this week. Defender Cedric Soares is cup-tied, while Calum Chambers, Pablo Mari, Shkodran Mustafi and Gabriel Martinelli are ruled out. Chelsea stars N'Golo Kante and Willian are both in the squad after injuries. However, Ruben Loftus-Cheek sustained a minor injury in training and has been ruled out.
Nothing much to separate the two teams
With such a high-profile game set to be played behind closed doors, the atmosphere of a final will be missing. Chelsea earned a top-four finish in the Premier League and have been in good form of late. For Arsenal, they had an eighth-placed finish and need to win the FA Cup in order to qualify for the Europa League.
Presenting the key stats ahead of the match
Arsenal have not lost an FA Cup final at Wembley since a 1-0 defeat by West Ham in 1980. The Gunners have failed to score in only one of their past 31 FA Cup matches. The Blues have lost only one of their past 15 FA Cup matches. Since his FA Cup debut in 2013, Olivier Giroud has scored 16 goals in the competition.
Dream11, match prediction, timing and TV listing
Dream11 team prediction: (4-2-3-1): Martinez; Tierney, Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Alonso; Ceballos, Xhaka; Pulisic (vc), Mount, Aubameyang (c), Giroud. Match prediction: 2-1. The match is set to start at 10:00 PM IST and will be telecast live on the Sony Ten Network.
