After a sensational season in which they pretty much battered all comers, Chelsea must fancy their chances against the Arsenal in the FA Cup this weekend.
Because, for all their talents, the same reservations still apply to Arsenal form most onlookers around the globe.
They are beautiful to watch against mediocre opposition but they regularly come up short against the big boys. That wasn’t the case in the semi-finals where they won out against Manchester City in a thrilling encounter.
But TFF believes that Chelsea will have enough to at first smother Arsenal and then get the better of them.
With only Ruben Loftus-Cheek injured Chelsea have a full complement to pick from and their injury is situation has been sensational all season. Whether this is down to Antonio Conte and his coaching staff or pure good fortune Chelsea have rarely been unable to pick their strongest team in this victorious campaign.
And that means they have got into the groove with a brilliant 11 which has been difficult to displace even though the squad is strong. Willian, for example, has had a brilliant season when playing and just hasn’t been able to shift the Spaniard Pedro from the starting lineup. And the Spaniard surely deserves to take his place in the team for this one.
So we are going for a really tried and tested Chelsea first XI and it’s difficult to see Antonio Conte picking any other team than this one. The only difference could be that the Brazilian starts this game. So here it is and we’re expecting a real spectacle at Wembley this afternoon.
Chelsea fans: is this undoubtedly your best XI now?
Prediction: Chelsea 2 – 1 Arsenal
Chelsea (3-4-3): Courtois, Alonso, Cesar, Luiz, Cahill, Moses, Kante, Matic, Hazard, Costa, Pedro
