Confirmed XI: Manchester United strong for Chelsea clash

Manchester United will face Chelsea in the semi-final of the Emirates FA Cup at Wembley Stadium this evening. It will be the fourth time this season that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side has met Frank Lampard’s side with the Norwegian doing the double over Chelsea in the league, which was a great achievement, also knocking them out of the Carabao Cup, winning twice at Stamford Bridge, an achievement in itself.

United will get a break from the Premier League this weekend with two matches still to play and a place in the top four up for grabs. Beating Chelsea and setting up an FA Cup final will be what Solskjaer would like to do, however, achieving UEFA Champions League football will be the more important task this season. Perhaps Solskjaer will try to do both, also having the chance of another trophy – the UEFA Europa League.

Manchester United:

De Gea;

Lindelof, Bailly, Maguire;

Wan-Bissaka, Fred, Matic, Williams;

Fernandes;

James, Rashford

Substitutes:

Romero; Fosu-Mensah; Pogba, Mata, Pereira, McTominay; Martial, Ighalo, Greenwood

Chelsea:

Caballero;

Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Zouma;

James, Kovacic, Jorginho, Alonso;

Mount, Giroud, Willian

Substitutes:

Arrizabalaga, Christensen, Abraham, Pedro, Loftus-Cheek, Hudson-Odoi, Pulisic, Tomori, Emerson

United and Chelsea have played 16 times in the FA Cup with United winning nine, drawing twice and losing five times. United have scored 25 goals conceding 13. United have kept seven clean sheets with Chelsea keeping six. Three of the past FA Cup matches have been finals with United winning one against Chelsea, a 4-0 victory in 1994, losing twice by 1-0 scorelines in 2007 and 2018.

This season, United have beaten Chelsea three times already winning 4-0 at Old Trafford at the start of the season with Rashford scoring a brace with Martial and James on the scoresheet also. In the Carabao Cup, United won 2-1 at Stamford Bridge with Rashford scoring both goals then in the second Premier League match, played at Stamford Bridge, United won 2-0 with Martial and Maguire scoring the goals. Here’s to a fourth victory.

Written by John Walker