Chelsea-Everton: FA Cup Final Preview

Chelsea vs Everton
FA Cup Final Football Match
Saturday 30 May 2009
Wembley Stadium
Kickoff: 15:00

Chelsea

Chelsea comes into the final in good form, having gone 13 games unbeaten in all competitions, and winning nine of those. They ended their Premier League campaign with a 3-2 win away to Sunderland.

It has been a fairly smooth ride to Wembley for the West Londoners, with their semi-final opponents, Arsenal, representing the first top-flight side Chelsea encountered on route to the final.

Deco, Carvalho, Ferreira, and Joe Cole will all miss out because of injury, but Chelsea has no further medical issues for coach Guus Hiddink to sweat in the build-up to Saturday’s game.

Everton

Everton has lost just one of their last nine games, and finished off the league season in good order with a 2-0 win away to Fulham, securing fifth place on the ladder and a spot in next season's Europa League.

The Toffees have endured a tougher road to Wembley than their opponents, seeing off the likes of Liverpool, Aston Villa, and Manchester United. Coach David Moyes will be hoping his Everton side can take a fourth top-six scalp on Saturday.

Everton currently has one of the longest injury lists in the Premier League, and will definitely be without Jagielka, Arteta, Anichebe, Turner, and Yakubu. The good news is that Neville and Pienaar look set to recover from hamstring injuries and make the squad.

Brazilian striker Jo will miss the final due to the terms of his loan agreement.

Prediction

This season’s two Chelsea vs. Everton league encounters both ended in scoreless draws, so the scene is hardly set for a classic final.

Chelsea has rediscovered a number of the traits prevalent during Jose Mourinho’s reign since Hiddink took temporary charge in February. The Dutchman has proved to be a popular figure at Stamford Bridge, and midfielder Frank Lampard has spoken about the side’s desire to win a trophy for their departing coach.

The revival of Didier Drogba has been chief amongst Hiddink’s achievements, with 10 of the Ivorian’s 13 goals this season coming since his appointment.

The return of Michael Essien has also played a big role in Chelsea’s increased intensity in recent months. He is likely to have a key role to play on Saturday against a strong Everton midfield.

David Moyes has overseen another impressive season at Goodison Park, despite injuries robbing him of a recognised striker for a sizeable chunk of the campaign. The 4-5-1 formation has been the Everton coach’s tactic of choice on the road to Wembley and there is little reason to suggest that won’t be their formation on Saturday.

With the two midfields likely to cancel one another out, it will be down to the forwards to tip the balance. In that respect it is hard to see past Chelsea’s likely front three of Anelka, Drogba, and Malouda, who have the necessary quality to cause Everton all kinds of problems, especially with defensive rock Jagielka missing out.

That said, anything can happen in a one-off encounter, and Everton fans need only look back as far as Tottenham’s Carling Cup victory over Chelsea last season to see a little light at the end of the tunnel in this final match of the 2008-09 English football season.

Chelsea 1-0 Everton

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