Following an imperious Premier League season and title win, Chelsea now have the opportunity to claim a famous domestic double in Antonio Conte’s first season. So what does the form book say will happen at Wembley?
FA Cup Finals do, of course, have their own special atmosphere but a dig into Chelsea’s recent form, and that of their opponents Arsenal, gives some indication as to which corner of London the trophy could be heading to.
Psychologically Chelsea are buoyant after winning the league title at a canter, while Arsenal face up to the harsh reality of being without Champions League football for the first time in 20 years.
OVERALL FORM GUIDE
The Premier League title was wrapped-up by the time Chelsea put Sunderland to the sword on the final day of the season.
That win capped a six-game winning streak that followed defeat against Man United in April.
Arsenal pulled together a run of five wins at the end of the season but have laboured far more this campaign. Nine defeats and six draws overall as compared to Chelsea’s five defeats and three draws.
Chelsea’s FA Cup campaign has been taxing at times, with The Blues facing stubborn opposition in Man United and Spurs to reach Wembley this weekend.
By comparison The Gunner have had it easy, with only Man City presenting any real threat to their progression in a pulsating Semi-final encounter.
HEAD-TO-HEAD FORM GUIDE
Arsenal’s decent finish to the season was built on a string of strong defensive performances.
Switching to a back-three made the Gunners more sure-footed at the back and meant they conceded just nine goals and kept four clean sheets in the final ten EPL games.
Chelsea won one more game across those ten fixtures, but importantly outscored Arsenal by 11 goals.A goal per game ratio of nearly 3:1 is illustrated by strong offensive form averages that show Chelsea are far more lethal in front of goal than their London rivals.
While defensive form averages seems to marginally favour Arsenal, Chelsea have been a stronger defensive unit overall this season – shipping 11 fewer goals than The Gunners throughout the campaign.
FA Cup Final predictions
Both teams are likely to score based on previous data (56% probability) with Chelsea the favourites to win (56% probability).
Chelsea are more likely to score first (54% probability). And if the game doesn’t reach the end of normal time without a winner(1-1 is the most probable score line), three or more goals are likely to have been scored (56% probability) by the two sides.
Preview and football tips courtesy of KickOff
