Chelsea v Manchester City - Team News, Match Preview & Predicted Lineups
Venue: Wembley Stadium Date: Sunday 14th April Time: 16:00 GMT TV: Live on ITV
Match Preview
Holders Chelsea continue their FA Cup defence with a tricky semi-final against Manchester City at Wembley. Rafa Benitez's side have been on a fine run of form in recent weeks, having defeated Premier League champions-elect Manchester United in the quarter-final and Rubin Kazan over two legs to reach the Europa League semis. Manchester City, too, will be hoping to ride the wave of their recent fortunes, after also defeating fierce rivals United on Monday. Having all but secured second place in the Premier League, and with no European competition to worry about, the 2011 winners will undoubtedly send out a full-strength eleven come Sunday. Sunday's game will be Chelsea's sixth in just 16 days. Their defence has been badly hit by injury; with Ashley Cole (hamstring) and Gary Cahill (knee) both doubtful, Benitez's back four has almost been chosen for him. However, they will be able to rely on the freshness of key players such as Juan Mata and Eden Hazard, both of whom were rested in Thursday's 3-2 defeat in Moscow. Ryan Bertrand (illness) and Demba Ba (ankle) are both expected to recover in time for Sunday. City will be sweating over the fitness of Spanish playmaker David Silva, who pulled up with a hamstring problem against United on Monday. Roberto Mancini has said that the club will decide on Sunday morning whether he is fit enough to play. City are also without right-backs Maicon (knee) and Micah Richards (knee). For Roberto Mancini, this is simply a must-win game. With persistent rumours about his future at the club, the Italian needs to make the most of his last opportunity at silverware this season to cement his position. Rafa, meanwhile, is under absolutely no pressure. Having already confirmed that he will be leaving Chelsea at the end of the season, this semi-final is a strictly CV-building exercise. Some Chelsea fans have voiced their concerns about this; they fear that cup form is being prioritised over a fourth place finish in the Premier League. Judging by Thursday's Europa League performance, Mancini will be telling his side to pump balls into the Chelsea box. John Obi Mikel and John Terry were both caught napping against Rubin Kazan, which twice gave the Russians the simplest of finishes. Benitez, meanwhile, will be relying heavily on his three attacking midfielders to play with the panache that they did early in the season. Rafa also faces - perhaps for the first time this season - a serious selection headache up front. The masked Fernando Torres has been in hot goalscoring form recently (with three goals in three games), while Demba Ba will be fresh after being cup-tied for Thursday's Europa League clash.Likely Lineups
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech; Azpilicueta, Ivanovic, David Luiz, Bertrand; Ramires, Mikel; Mata, Oscar, Hazard; Ba. Manchester City (4-2-3-1): Hart; Kompany, Zabaleta, Lescott, Clichy; Milner, Barry; Nasri, Y Toure, Silva; Aguero. source - bbc sport
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