The road to Wembley reaches its conclusion this weekend as Manchester United and Chelsea square off in a battle to see who will win this season’s F.A. Cup. Saturday’s showpiece event is a repeat of the 2007 final, a game that saw Chelsea come out on top thanks to Didier Drogba’s extra-time goal.
And how Chelsea could do with someone of Drogba’s stature in the side at the moment, Antonio Conte’s men limped towards the end of their Premier League campaign as they finished 5th and subsequently missed out on a return to the Champions League next season.
That league placing looks like it will cost Antonio Conte his job, no matter what the outcome at Wembley. The former Italy and Juventus manager has seemed like a pale imitation of the man that deliver a league title to Stamford Bridge just 12 months ago.
So much so, that not even going one better than the Cup Final defeat the suffered to Arsenal this time last year will be enough to change the mind of club owner Roman Abramovich, who is poised to once again show another manager the exit door in West London.
With that in mind you would think that the Chelsea players would at least want to end Conte’s time as manager on a high, but there is quite obviously some form of disconnect between the touchline and the pitch.
Then again you could well argue that the fact that Conte is obviously unmotivated is something that is then feeding through to the players, and as a result the performances that are being offered up a well short of the mark.
This crisis of sorts is something that will play into Manchester United’s hands as Jose Mourinho will look to get one over his former employers. Not only that though but he will look to add a fourth piece of silverware to the club’s trophy cabinet since taking charge of the Red Devils.
The club which finished second in the Premier League got the better of Tottenham in the Semi-final after coming from behind, and that game was a classic example of Mourinho at his pragmatic best. Once in front it was substance over style and making sure the job was complete.
You could well argue that it was more a game that was won in the technical areas as Mourinho outwitted his opposite number Mauricio Pochettino and it could well be the same situation in Saturday’s final.
A lot will depend on just how fired up Antonio Conte is for this game. Will we see the version that was lambasted by Mourinho at Stamford Bridge for celebrating too much in a 4-0 home win or will we see something more akin to the Italian’s current vintage.
Chelsea booked their place in the final thanks to a win over Southampton, but this is going to be a much more difficult test especially as they have not won any of their last two league outings, so the momentum is not with them.
United on the other hand picked up four points from their last six, and have been seemingly coasting towards this game. With Champions League football already secured they have been afforded the luxury of making many changes in the games against West Ham and Watford.
That means their key players will be well rested for this game and fired up for the task ahead. United won this competition in 2016 in what was Louis Van Gaal’s last act as manager and they will be favourites to lift the trophy for the second time in three years. A win for the Red Devils, a blue day for Antonio Conte as his time as Chelsea boss comes to an end.