Manchester United vs Chelsea, Part IV: FA Cup semifinal
United is on a 19-match unbeaten run in all competitions under Solskjaer so might be favored in what looks to be tightest of the semifinals, on paper at least.
Published : Jul 18, 2020 21:55 IST
With the Premier League finale at the background, Manchester United will take on Chelsea in the second FA Cup semifinal on Sunday at the Wembley Stadium.
United is on a 19-match unbeaten run in all competitions under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer so might be favoured in what looks to be tightest of the semifinals, on paper at least. Chelsea is above United in the league, by a point, but hasn’t been as consistent since the turn of the year.
Chelsea has also lost thrice to United this season, twice in the league and once in the League Cup.
Frank Lampard has rejected Solskjaer’s claim that Chelsea has an unfair advantage in Sunday’s match because it has had a longer time to prepare.
While Chelsea last played on Tuesday in a 1-0 win over Norwich, United has already two games this week - a 2-2 draw against Southampton on Monday and a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace on Thursday.
"We’re in a period where we’re playing games all the time, very regularly, and you become ‘play, recover, play again, recover.’ You work with the squad as it is,” Lampard said. “It’s an age-old question (by) a lot of managers. You probably dig out the times when I’ve mentioned it, but at the same time it isn’t about advantage or not. Sometimes it works in your favour to be playing regularly and ticking over.”
Solskjaer has stuck with a similar starting line-up in the last six matches in the league indicating that he might ring in the changes for Sunday's clash.
United has the Europa League as well as FA Cup to aim for in the remaining weeks of the season. Like Chelsea, though, the priority is to finish in the top four and secure a Champions League qualification spot.
With two league games left, United is in fifth place, tied on points with fourth-place Leicester and a point behind Chelsea.
"We are fine,” Solskjaer said. “We are fit and the players are raring to go and want to play again.
"Of course anyone can hold their hands up at any moment and say, ‘I want to sit out this one.’ We have players on the bench desperate to join in.”