Photo: Wembley National Stadium Ltd
Two of the biggest teams in the Premier League meet on Sunday 14th April 2013 when Chelsea take on Manchester City at Wembley Stadium in the semi-final of the FA Cup.
Both teams have had to come a long way to reach this stage. Chelsea, who are the holders of the cup and have won it seven times, thumped Southampton 5-1 in the third round with new signing Demba Ba scoring two on his debut. In the fourth round, the London club were held to a 2-2 draw against League One side Brentford, who they then beat 4-0 in the replay at Stamford Bridge. Middlesbrough were their next opponents and they travelled home from the Riverside with a 2-0 victory in hand. Chelsea had to play a replay again after coming back from two early Manchester United goals to grab another 2-2 draw in the competition. It is safe to say that United were very poor in the replay and Demba Ba’s wonderful volley was enough to set up the semi-final tie.
On the other hand, Manchester City cruised into the fourth round after putting three past Watford and in the fourth round they endured a tough game against Stoke at the Brittania Stadium, only managing to sore one goal, courtesy of Pablo Zabaleta’s late finish. City went goal crazy in the fifth and sixth rounds, albeit against lower opposition, beating Leeds United 4-0 and Barnsley 5-0, with Argentinean Carlos Tevez scoring four of these nine goals. It is the Manchester club who have done the best out of the two in the league this season, sitting in second place with 65 points, whilst Chelsea are behind them in third place on 58 points. However, we all know that it is a cup competition and league position doesn’t matter.
There are only a couple of injury worries for either side, with David Silva being allowed until Saturday to prove his fitness after a suspected hamstring tear picked up in the 2-1 win against rivals Manchester United. Chelsea’s Ashley Cole and Demba Ba are also doubts after having picked up injuries, whilst Gary Cahill has not yet fully recovered from his knee injury.
So, who will win this huge match-up and progress to the final of the FA Cup? Will it be Chelsea or will it be Manchester City? We will have to wait until Sunday to find out!
