Leicester vs Chelsea English FA Cup - 18-03-2018

Leicester City vs Chelsea - Competition: English FA Cup
Date: 18 March 2018 - Kick-off Time: 16:30 GMT - 17:30 CET
Venue: King Power Stadium, Leicester

Leicester City have only lost two of their last 13 matches in all competitions and brought an end to a four match run without a win when they beat West Brom 4-1 last weekend. The Foxes are only three points away from Burnley in the Premier League table and could qualify for next year's Europa League. They have the advantage of coming into this match fresher than Chelsea team and will hope to get a revenge over Chelsea as they suffered a 2-1 league defeat at the King Power Stadium earlier this season. Their route in the English FA Cup has seen them beat Fleetwood, Peterborough and Sheffield United so far.
Kelechi Iheanacho should get the nod over Shinji Okazaki and start behind the lone striker Jamie Vardy. Aleksander Dragovic and Marc Albrighton could also come into contention for recalls. Vicente Iborra and Wilfred Ndidi are likely to anchor the midfield while Christian Fuchs should be restored as left back, with Danny Simpson on the other flank. Daniel Amartey will not return from his hamstring injury until after the international break.

Chelsea tem went down 3-0 against Barcelona at the Nou Camp in UCL and the English FA Cup remain their last chance to win silverware this season. They are currenly outside the top four in Premier League having suffered consecutive defeat to Manchester City and Manchester United (both away) before to narrowly beat Crystal Palace 2-1 last weekend. Antonio Conte's men have coasted through in the FA Cup, beating Norwich, Newcastle and Hull so far. The Blues have won 12 of their last 15 matches against Leicester in all competitions (D2 L1) but failed to beat the Foxes back in January at Stamford Bridge as the match ended in a goalless draw.
Antonio Conte has rotated his options in previous rounds and could yet choose Willy Caballero as goalkeeper. Alvaro Morata is expected to lead the line while Pedro and Willian are in contention for a starting berth as offensive midfielder, alongside Eden Hazard. In midfield, Tiemouè Bakayoko is expected to partner N'Golo Kantè, while Davide Zappacosta should replace Victor Moses as right wing-back. The likes of Andreas Christensen, Gary Cahill and Cesar Azpilicueta should form the three man backline. Defender David Luiz and midfielder Ross Barkley are out remain sidelined.

Leicester City last 5 matches:

10/02/18 Man City 5 – 1 Leicester
16/02/18 Leicester City 1 – 0 Sheffield United
24/02/18 Leicester City 1 – 1 Stoke City
03/03/18 Leicester City 1 – 1 Bournemouth
10/03/18 West Brom 1 – 4 Leicester

Chelsea last 5 matches:

20/02/18 Chelsea 1 – 1 Barcelona
25/02/18 Man United 2 – 1 Chelsea
04/03/18 Manchester City 1 – 0 Chelsea
10/03/18 Chelsea 2 – 1 Crystal Palace
14/03/18 Barcelona 3 – 0 Chelsea 

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Cardiff City vs Manchester City FA Cup - 28-01-2018

Cardiff City vs Manchester City - Competition: English FA Cup

Cardiff City team are knocking on the door to the automatic promotion spots in English Championship. After hitting a rocky patch and sliding down the Championship table - a four-match losing run over the busy festive period - they have enjoyed a four match unbeaten run who have lifted them in 5th spot in the standings. They have also kept three clean sheets in the process. The Bluebirds needed a replay against League Two side Mansfield to set up this clash, as the first clash ended 0-0 in Wales and the replay 1-4 away from home.
The hosts are without Lee Camp, Kadeem Harris and Aron Gunnarsson for this clash. They have injected more quality into the squad in the January transfer window, borrowing Liverpool midfielder Marko Grujic and Norwich winger Yanic Wildschut. The former is expected to play in midfield while the latter will make the bench. Kenneth Zohore is likely to spearhead the attack in a 5-4-1 system, with David Junior Hoilett and Nathaniel Mendez Laing playing out wide. In defense, Sol Bamba, Sean Morrison and Bruno Ecuele Manga will play at the centre, with Joe Bennett and Lee Peltier as full backs.
Man City boast 12-point lead at the top of the EPL and booked their place in the League Cup Final as they beat Championship side Bristol in the second leg of their semi-final tie last Tuesday. The Citizens have won 32 of their 36 competitive matches so far this season and 15 of their 18 away games. Anyway, their defense remain a concern as Guardiola's men have managed to keep only 4 clean sheets in their last 17 outings.
Claudio Bravo is expected to continue in goal while Danilo, Vincent Kompany, Eliaquim Mangala, Yaya Toure, Ilkay Gundogan and Raheem Sterling could all be called upon. Kyle Walker broke his nose during City's victory at Ashton Gate and could be rested, meaning that Oleksandr Zinchenko will feature from the off at left back. Sergio Aguero will lead the line, having banged in eight goals in six games since the turn of the year. The likes of Fabian Delph, Phil Foden, Gabriel Jesus and Benjamin Mendy remain sidelined.

Date: 28 January 2018
Kick-off Time: 16:00 GMT
Venue: Cardiff City Stadium

 

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Arsenal vs Chelsea English FA Cup Final 27/05/2017

Arsenal vs Chelsea 

Competition: English FA Cup Final

Arsenal FC team won at the beginning of the season, when they were at the top of Premier League, but, later on, they paid a high price for playing in Europe. On top of it came already traditional problems with injuries and at one point it was questionable whether Arsenal FC will play in Europe next year or not. However, Arsenal kicked into higher gear in the finish of the season when the team won five matches in a row, but it was too late to reach some of the positions that lead to the UEFA Champions League and they reached just the Europe League being the fifth in the table.

Arsenal have ended the season having just one point fewer than fourth-placed Liverpool so they definitely have something to be sorry about, especially as everyone got used to see them in the group phase of the UEFA Champions League. However, coach, Wenger, players must leave all that behind themselves as they have to focus on the final of FA Cup, where will face Chelsea team. In the semi-final, Arsenal eliminated Manchester City after extra time. Let’s add that Saturday’s match will skip suspended stopper Koscielny, while besides injured Paulista, Cazorla and Perez, who will not play for sure. And for midfielder Oxlade-Chamerlain is questionable as he hasn’t fully recovered.

Unlike Arsenal FC for which the FA Cup is in fact the only chance to save the season, their city rival Chelsea team, will try to verify its dominance from the English Premier League on Saturday in the FA Cup, especially as they have no problems with injuries before the final match at Wembley Stadium, London.  Besides, Chelsea’s winning streak is longer than of Arsenal, it is seven-game long, six in the league and one in the FA Cup semi-final over another city rival, Tottenham.

In the end of season, the Spurs, were their only rivals in the race to the title of English Champion, but, coach Conte's players, were maximally focused in each and every game and didn’t care too much about reputation of their opponents. In the last two rounds, regardless of having no result imperative, they won Watford and Sunderland and scored nine goals in the process. Those are all good news for Conte ahead of this face-off with Arsenal’s very vulnerable defence.

Probable lineups:
Arsenal FC: Cech – Holding, Mustafi, Monreal – Bellerin, Ramsey, Xhaka, Gibbs – Ozil, Sanchez – Welbeck
Chelsea: Courtois – Azpilicueta, Luiz, Cahill – Moses, Matic, Kante, Alonso – Pedro, Costa, Hazard

Date: 27 May 2017

Kick-off Time: 17:30 GMT
Venue: Wembley Stadium, London.

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Manchester United 4-0 Wigan Athletic Highlights 2017 FA Cup

Man United vs Wigan Athletic - Competition: English FA Cup
Date: 29 January 2017 - Kick-off Time: 16:00 GMT
Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester

Fellaini and Bastian Schweinsteiger are among the scorers as Manchester United see off Wigan 4-0 in English FA Cup.

Goals:

Man UTD: 44' Marouane Fellaini 1-0 // 57' Chris Smalling 2-0 // 74' Henrik Mkhitaryan 3-0 // 81' Bastian Schweinsteiger 4-0  

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Chelsea vs Peterborough United FA Cup - 08-01-2017

Chelsea vs Peterborough United - Competition: English FA Cup

Chelsea team may well have lost to Tottenham last time out, but this ended a run of 13 successive English Premier League wins. They still hold a five point lead at the top of the standings. The Blues aòready crashed out of the League Cup to West Ham earlier in the season- Prior to that they only managed to beat Bristol Rovers 3-2 in the same competition, showing that Antonio Conte is willing to make changes to the side in the domestic cups.
Antonio Conte is expected to make several changes to their starting line-up for this game. Diego Costa and Eden Hazard should be rested in this game, while players like Michy Batshuayi, Willian and Kennedy will have the chance to impress Antonio Conte. Defender Kurt Zouma has been out injured for over a year but he is in line to make his reappearance here. Midfielders Oscar and John Mikel Obi have packed their bags and left Stamford Bridge for big-money moves to China.

Peterborough are hoping for yet another promotion in the Football League this season as they currently sit just outside the play-off places, one point behind sixth placed Fleetwood Town. Recent form has seen the Posh go seven matches unbeaten, although they do come into this match on the back of three consecutive draws against Gillingham, Coventry and Scunthorpe. They score plenty of goals and are amongst League One’s top scorers this term with 38 in 25 matches.

Peterborough United team will be without defender Jack Baldwin, who had a knee operation at the start of December. In a 4-3-1-2 formation, Shaquille Coulthirst and Tom Nichols are likely to start upfront with Marcus Maddison in the number ten role.

Chelsea last 5 matches:

14/12/16 Sunderland 0 – 1 Chelsea
17/12/16 Crystal Palace 0 – 1 Chelsea
26/12/16 Chelsea 3 – 0 Bournemouth
31/12/16 Chelsea 4 – 2 Stoke City
04/01/17 Tottenham 2 – 0 Chelsea FC

Peterborough last 5 matches:

17/12/16 Charlton Athletic 0 – 2 Peterborough
20/12/16 Peterborough 2 – 0 Notts County
26/12/16 Peterborough 1 – 1 Gillingham
31/12/16 Peterborough 1 – 1 Coventry City
02/01/17 Scunthorpe United 1 – 1 Peterborough

Date: 8 January 2017
Kick-off Time: 15:00 GMT
Venue: Stamford Bridge, London

 

 

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Crystal Palace vs Manchester United 21-05-2016 - FA Cup final

Crystal Palace vs Manchester United - Competition: English FA Cup Final

Manchester United failed to mount a serious challenge in the Premier League title race, finishing fifth and missing out on Champions League football for next season. The Red Devils wrapped up their Premier League campaign with a 3-1 win over Bournemouth in midweek. They have knocked out Sheffield United, Derby County, Shrewsbury Town, West Ham United and Everton on their way to the English FA Cup final.
Luis Van Gaal revealed at his pre-match press conference that full-backs Matteo Darmian and Marcos Rojo have both overcome recent injuries. Marcus Rashford is likely to lead the line in a 4-1-4-1 formation. Adnan Januzaj, Luke Shaw, Darmian and Morgan Schneiderlin are listed as doubts while Morgan Schneiderlin is back from illness and Marouane Fellaini back from suspension. Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Will Keane all look certain to miss out.

Crystal Palace team have only won seven matches in 2016, but five of those have been in the FA Cup. They beat Watford in the semifinal and also saw off the likes of Southampton, Stoke, Tottenham and Reading to reach the final. In Premier League, Paredew's men were lucky to have started the season in fine style, which kept them off relegation zone despite their poor ending. The Eagles have lost three of their last five outings and failed to score in either of their two league meetings with the Red Devils this season.
Alan Pardew rested a host of players in their final league game of the season and can call upon his strongest XI for this match. Emmanuel Adebayor is expected to play a part in what could be his final Palace appearance, but either Dwight Gayle or Connor Wickham, who scored against Watford in the semi-final, are due to lead the line. Kwesi Appiah, Marouane Chamakh, Brede Hangeland and Joe Ledley are all sidelined, while Yohan Cabaye and Wilfried Zaha are all 50/50 ahead of the final.
Manchester United are undefeated in their last 10 matches against Crystal Palace and have kept a clean sheet in 13 of their last 18 games against the Eagles in all competitions. A Damian Delaney own goal, allied to Matteo Darmian’s screamer, gave United a comfortable 2-0 win at Old Trafford when the sides last met in the EPL at the end of April.

Probable lineups: 

Crystal Palace: Hennessey – Ward, Dann, Delaney, Souare – Cabaye, McArthur – Puncheon, Bolasie, Sako – Wickham.

Manchester United: de Gea – Valencia, Smalling, Blind, Borthwick-Jackson – Carrick – Lingard, Mata, Rooney, Martial – Rashford.

Date: 21 May 2016 - Time: 17:30 BST
Venue: Wembley Stadium, London 

You can watch the match here: Link 1 , Link 2 [Live Scores]

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Arsenal vs Hull City English FA Cup - February 20, 2016

Arsenal vs Hull City  - Competition: English FA Cup 

Arsene Wenger is expected to rest his big-name players with one eye on the huge UCL clash with FC Barcelona in midweek. The Frenchman confident on the fitness of Laurent Koscielny while Gabriel remains unavailable. Mohamed Elneny will probably start after making his debut against Burnley in round four. David Ospina, Flamini and Calum Chambers are all in line to feature, while Danny Welbeck and Joel Campbell could also start.
Hull City team are in brilliant form as they have won five of their last seven games, losing just once. Anyway, they suffered a blip in their quest to return to the Premier League with a 0-0 draw with Brighton on Tuesday night. With 15 games of the Championship season to go, Hull are top of the pile and two points clear of Middlesbrough, who do have a game in hand on Bruce's side.

Man United loanee Nick Powell will definitely be making his debut while Michael Dawson, Abel Hernandez and Jake Livermore are likely to be rested with Tuesday's tough away trip to Ipswich Town. Ahmed Elmohamady could have to settle for a place on the bench once again. In attack, Steve Bruce must decide whether to play his top scorer Abel Hernandez or continue with Adama Diomande.
In 2014 the Gunners beat the Tigers in the final at Wembley before while they knocked out Steve Bruce's side last year, with a 2-0 success on home soil in the third round on their way to win the FA Cup. Arsenal are unbeaten in their last 10 meetings with Hull, winning nine, since the Tigers won 2-1 at the Emirates in September 2008. 

Date: 20 February 2016
Time: 12:45 GMT
Venue: Emirates Stadium, London 

You can watch the match here: Link 1 , Link 2 [Live Scores]

 

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