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Manchester United v Everton: FA Cup Game Zone
Sir Alex Ferguson has already said that he will be picking a much-changed team from the one that won in Porto last week. Such are Ferguson’s options, that David Moyes will only really be able to brief his back-four when he sees the teamsheet an hour before kick-off.
Wayne’s world
Metatarsal injury or no metatarsal injury Wayne Rooney has probably been nagging Ferguson to play ever since United returned from Portugal. Never one to volunteer for a rest, the in-form striker will be desperate to face his old team.
But surely Rooney won’t play, having played the full 90 minutes on Wednesday night, with Carlos Tevez kicking his heels on the bench. It should mean that Tevez will start on Sunday, whether it’s alongside Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov or even Cristiano Ronaldo, who responded so brilliantly against Porto to being used down the middle.
Ronaldo’s role
If Ronaldo does play, it is more likely he will move back out to the right and have a go at Leighton Baines.
Everton’s left-back has enjoyed a terrific season, gaining strength and confidence to put in some impressive performances down that flank. But he’ll have his hands full on Wembley’s wide pastures if the World Player of the Year is on form.
On the Park?
The challenge will be much different if Ferguson goes for Ji-Sung Park, as he often does for these kinds of feisty duels.
The disciplined Park has proved himself very dangerous cutting in from the right. Against hungry opponents, his energy might prove just the job.
So how can Everton win?
Moyes can take heart from this season’s two Premier League clashes. At Goodison Park back in October, the key was stepping up the tempo to counter the champions’ superior quality with some good old-fashioned passion. Once the penny dropped, Everton proved good value for the 1-1 draw.
They didn’t make it much easier in the return when Ronaldo’s penalty was all that separated the sides.
The odd couple
In both these games, Marouane Fellaini played a central role. His headed equaliser earned a point at home while a makeshift strike partnership with Tim Cahill at Old Trafford gave Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic something to think about.
Fellaini goes into the match in fine goal-scoring form with four goals in his last five games. Anything played forward will constitute danger when the giant Belgian starts putting himself about. With Cahill’s uncanny ability to get his head on the ball in a crowded box, the pair can be a real threat today. You can apply that to the team as a whole.
This game means more to Everton. If that comes across on the pitch, the underdogs are in business.
Team details
Manchester United (possible, 4-4-2): Foster; G Neville, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra; Park, Fletcher, Scholes, Nani; Berbatov, Tevez.
Everton (possible, 4-4-1-1): Howard; Hibbert, Jagielka, Lescott, Baines; Osman, P Neville, Cahill, Pienaar; Fellaini; Saha. Telegraph
Chelsea beat Arsenal to reach FA Cup final
In the build up to the FA Cup semi-final between Chelsea and Arsenal, Didier Drogba had spoken ominously about a return to the imperious form that made him the most feared striker in the world. This was no empty rhetoric – the Ivorian was back to his distinctive best in scoring the winner here, taking Guus Hiddink's Chelsea to the FA Cup final.
The winner, coming just six minutes from the end was vintage Drogba. Frank Lampard’s volleyed ball over the top looked harmless enough until Drogba started pounding across the turf. Mikael Silvestre was shrugged off with ease en route, as the Chelsea striker shifted the ball around the on-rushing Lukasz Fabianski with his right foot before steering it into the empty net with his left.
Wenger had adapted his team selection to try and prevent the Chelsea midfield triumvirate of Lampard-Essien-Ballack from dominating the middle of the park.
From the side that had so elegantly dismissed Villarreal, the Frenchman made two changes, dropping Alex Song and Samir Nasri to the bench and playing Denilson and Abou Diaby alongside Casc Fabregas in the centre of midfield, with Robin van Persie moving out to the left flank. It was a valiant effort from the Arsenal manager - the two sides were evenly matched for much of this game - but there is no tactic for taming Drogba in full flight.
Just as the game had begun to settle, Arsenal took the lead. Getting little change out of Alex and John Terry through the middle Emmanuel Adebayor pulled out to the left. Kieran Gibbs took advantage of Nicolas Anelka’s defensive inattention to nip down to the by-line where Adebayor passed him the ball.
The 19-year-old left-back crossed to the far post where Theo Walcott had been left in loads of room by Ashley Cole. To cap Cole’s embarrassment Walcott’s soft volley hit his hand and the subsequent deflection was enough to fool Petr Cech in the Chelsea goal.
Until then, it had been Chelsea who had come closest to scoring. Lukasz Fabianski, continuing to deputise for the injured Manuel Almunia, had made begun the game in a nervous state, practically handing Chelsea the lead when he came hurtling out of his box to try and deal with Terry’s speculative chip.
Misjudging the bounce, Fabianski froze and Didier Drogba headed the ball towards the open goal – the alert Gibbs sprinted back and hooked the ball to safety. Gibbs played impressively and his maturity will not have gone unnoticed by the watching Fabio Capello.
The Polish goalkeeper did not look any more settled even after Arsenal had taken the lead, letting a Malouda cross-shot rifle under his body and only just wide of the far post. So it was unsurprising that he was in part culpable for Chelsea’s equaliser.
Lampard hit a superb crossfield ball to Malouda who had the ball in the net with three touches – trap, shift and shot. Emmanuel Eboue was too easily evaded but even so, Fabianski should not have been so easily beaten at his near post.
The Frenchman has been in good form after struggling for much of the season and he evidently likes the ground, having scored a memorable goal on debut here in the 2007 Charity Shield.
Having levelled matters, Chelsea were ascendant. Anelka hit the post with a whipped shot with Abou Diaby vainly appealing for a foul after giving the ball away on the edge of the box. Hiddink’s side were doing their best to intimidate Arsenal’s youthful team - Branislav Ivanovic and Michael Ballack were both cautioned for hefty sliding challenges, the first on Van Persie, the second on Fabregas.
There was improvement form Arsenal after the break and Wenger’s side’s fortunes seemed directly correlate with how often Walcott got on the ball. The England winger has been excellent since his return from his latest injury and enjoyed a compelling duel with Cole all game.
Just before the hour his curving cross was just too far ahead of Van Persie for the Dutchman to convert and five minutes later his crossed forced Alex into an acrobatic overhead clearance.
Chelsea punched back, a slick passing move – a rarity on this poor Wembley surface – culminated in Lampard volleying a Drogba cross wide. Then Arsenal were fortunate not to concede a penalty after Mikael Silvestre handled in the box while challenging Drogba for the ball. Referee Martin Atkinson was certainly in lenient mood – Denilson, frustrated at having a foul awarded against him, should have been sent off for pushing the referee. Atkinson merely cautioned him.
Extra-time seemed inevitable as both sides grew increasingly cautious until Drogba’s explosive intervention with just six minutes to go. Arsenal tried desperately to rescue the game after that – substitute Andrei Arshavin panicking Cech with some expert deliveries – but their first visit to the new Wembley was to end in disappointment.
Arsenal (4-5-1): Fabianski; Eboue, Toure, Silvestre, Gibbs; Walcott, Fabregas, Denilson, Diaby, Van Persie (Arshavin 76); Adebayor (Bendtner 83). Subs: Mannone (g), Nasri, Vela, Ramsey, Song. Booked: Denilson.
Chelsea: (4-3-2-1): Cech; Ivanovic, Alex, Terry, A Cole; Ballack, Essien, Lampard; Anelka (Kalou 82), Malouda; Drogba. Subs: Hilario (g), Carvalho, Di Santo, Mikel, Belletti, Mancienne. Booked: Ivanovic, Ballack. Telegraph
