Chelsea come into Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final on the back of a loss to Manchester United this past Sunday. The last time Chelsea lost (to Crystal Palace in the League) they bounced back immediately in their next game and beat Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City team 2-1 with a solid performance. So we should expect Antonio Conte to have his Chelsea side totally ready for the challenge that Mauricio Pochettino and his Spurs side will provide.

There is a lot riding on this Saturday’s game. Obviously the winner will progress to the FA Cup final but also there will be a big psychological advantage to the winner for the run-in of the Premier League. With the gap reduced to 4 points at the top of the Premier League with 6 games to play, it is important that Chelsea win the match. So far this season Chelsea won 2-1 vs Spurs at Stamford Bridge while Spurs won 2-0 in the return fixture at White Hart Lane. This FA Cup semi-final offers the chance for the winner to claim another trophy but as mentioned will provide a big boost to the winner for the title race.

Looking at recent history, Chelsea won 4 of their past 5 FA Cup semi-finals only losing one vs Man City in 2013. On the other hand, Spurs have lost their last 6 FA Cup semi-finals in a row. The last time Chelsea faced Spurs in the FA Cup it was in the 2012 semi-final which Chelsea walked away with by a comprehensive 5-1 scoreline as the Blues proceeded to win the Cup.

Chelsea have won 7, drawn 7 and lost just 2 of their most recent 16 games played vs Tottenham but the last game between the two clubs was of course won by Mauricio Pochettino’s side at White Hart Lane in January which ended Chelsea’s record equalling winning run. So Antonio Conte will have plenty of motivation for his team to beat Spurs on Saturday.

Pochettino will likely find a place for Son Heung-Min at Wembley on Saturday as the Korean striker has been involved in more goals than any other player in this season’s FA Cup, scoring 6 goals (including a hat-trick) and adding 1 assist.

For the Blues their main man in the FA Cup has been Pedro who has scored 4 goals and added 2 assists in his 3 FA Cup appearances this season.

Some good news for Antonio Conte is that Thibault Courtois is expected to be recovered from the ankle problem that kept him out of the United match and the Belgian stopper should be fit to face Spurs.

Chelsea have not lost back-to-back games in all competitions since back in April 2016 when they lost to both Swansea City and Man City. Tottenham meanwhile have won their last 8 games in all competitions.

So the semi-final promises to be a contest between 2 excellent managers and the 2 form teams of the season in British football, both playing at the top of their games. We think Spurs will push Chelsea all the way and we can see the game going to extra-time. The teams will be allowed to use 4 substitutes should the game go to extra-time as we expect and that is where we think the superior depth of Chelsea’s bench will pay dividends. We predict a 3-2 extra-time win for Chelsea with Eden Hazard, Pedro, Willian and Diego Costa providing the offense that will take the Blues to the FA Cup final where they will play the winner of Arsenal and Man City.

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