Chelsea take on Arsenal in the season finale as both the teams will be fighting for the FA Cup on 27th May. Chelsea’s season has mostly been a joyride as the Blues won the Premier League title this season. Antonio Conte’s appointment worked wonders for them as they shrugged off their previous year’s disappointment to lift the title.
On the contrary, Arsenal’s season has not been very satisfactory as the Gunners have failed to clinch a top four place for the first time in 20 years. However, they will have the chance to finish the season on a promising note as they face Chelsea in the FA Cup final encounter. Arsene Wenger has a particular fascination towards this competition as he has won this title seven times during his tenure at the Emirates and Arsenal will remain favourite in this tournament for this particular man. Although they have to be very conscious as Conte’s side will be eyeing a double since they last did it in 2009-10.
Team News And Predicted Lineups
Arsenal
Wenger is facing a tough situation as he awaits for the fitness news of Shkodran Mustafi who suffered a concussion in the last match. Although he is very unlikely to feature but will go through a late fitness test. Laurent Koscielny was given the marching order for a lunge on Enner Valencia against Everton and he will be unavailable for this match. Wenger has been using a three-man defence in the last few matches but he might opt for a four-man defence as he has a shortage of defenders right now. Gabriel is out for a prolonged period and he could also miss the preseason campaign. But there is some good news for Arsenal fans as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Alexis Sanchez are on the verge of getting fully fit and will be in the contention of a start.
Cech; Monreal; Mertesacker, Holding; Gibbs, Xhaka, Ramsey, Bellerin; Sanchez, Ozil; Welbeck
Chelsea
Antonio Conte has no major injury concerns and is expected to unleash a strong team.
Courtois; Cahill, Azpilicueta, Luiz; Alonso, Matic, Kante, Moses; Hazard, Pedro; Costa
Key Players
Arsenal
Alexis Sanchez
The Chilean is fully fit and should start. There could be some complacency among the Chelsea defence and the attacker will have to take advantage of that. Given the current condition, he is currently the best player at Wenger’s disposal and regardless his future he needs to be at the top of his game.
Chelsea
Eden Hazard
The Belgian has the capability to single-handedly demolish the Gunners defence as we have seen earlier in Chelsea’s 3-1 win over Arsenal. The unavailability of Koscielny and Mustafi will make things a little bit easier for him and Wenger needs to find a suitable plan to stop him.
Odds
Arsenal- 15/4
Draw- 14/5
Chelsea- 4/5
